FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 21, 2011
Contact: Jeff Hall
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
617-281-8384
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) board chair Stephen Kay announced today that the hospital would pay outgoing CEO Paul Levy up to $1.6 million in severance as part of a "negotiated departure" after the CEO announced he would be quitting his post earlier this month. 1199SEIU, the state's largest healthcare union, issued the following statement this evening regarding the payout.
"Several months ago, we called for the firing of Paul Levy. Last week, we were told that he is voluntarily resigning. The board should immediately rescind this agreement and return the money to the public charity of the hospital. Every year, BIDMC receives massive amounts of scarce public dollars. If the board condones this massive payout after what was initially described as a voluntary resignation, it is a slap in the face to every resident of Boston, especially since BIDMC contributes the lowest PILOT payments of any major hospital in the city. This demonstrates Levy’s past statements about his departure as completely non-transparent, even duplicitous, and shows his willingness to take scarce public dollars for his own personal gain." - VERONICA TURNER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, 1199SEIU
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Representing more than 370,000 healthcare workers throughout Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and Washington, D.C., 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America and Massachusetts. 1199SEIU represents more than 40,000 hospital, nursing home, and home care workers in Massachusetts. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all.