The former CFO of Roseland Community Hospital has filed a lawsuit to recover money he paid out of his own pocket to cover operating expenses at the financially troubled institution.
Marlo Kemp has filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court because the hospital has not paid him back for the $100,000 he used from his personal bank account to cover a pending overdraft at the hospital as well as payroll expenses, the Chicago Tribune reports. Although Kemp did receive a check the next day for the expenses, he waited to deposit it until the hospital’s operating account had sufficient funds. He attempted to deposit the check on Dec. 15, the day he left his job, according to the lawsuit, but the hospital had issued a stop payment on the check.
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Kemp, who was still listed this week as a member of the executive team on the hospital website, wants full payment as well as statutory and punitive damages, and attorney fees.
But in a statement to the Chicago Tribune, hospital CEO Tim Egan called the allegations “categorically false,” adding “we definitely look forward to responding to these fabricated allegations in court.”
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The hospital has had financial challenges in recent months, according to an earlier article from the Chicago Tribune, and laid off 35 administrators in December and cut the salaries of senior executives by 25%. Egan’s pay was suspended for 60 to 90 days and nonunion staff took a 10% pay reduction for the same time period.
“We are in a fight for survival and these austerity measures are designed to get us to a sustainable level,” Egan told the publication in early January. He blamed delays from Medicare and Medicaid in reimbursements for some of the financial troubles at the safety net hospital.