As a taxpayer in Hamilton County I am appalled to see the size of the pay increases for management at Erlanger Hospital not to mention the bonuses.
It seems strange to me that over the past few years they have lamented the lack of cash flow at the hospital and as a result cut employees' pay and benefits.
Most recently the announcement was made to cut back on security with the excuse of saving money and making it a more “family friendly” environment.
Yet somehow miraculously the grand establishment has enough money to hand out large pay increases and bonuses to their management. All this while handing their everyday employees a paltry two percent raise.
I suppose it’s not enough for Mr. Spiegel to make more than 18 times the amount of his average employee who I might add do the lion’s share of the work at the hospital. $748,000 a year is a rich man’s salary in my book. $1.7 million performance payout to managers! Wow… the hospital must have really turned things around in the past year to be able to do that.
If things are that great at Erlanger, then why are they not giving their other employees a better raise and leaving their benefits alone? Why instead of cutting security are they not bolstering security for their employees and patrons?
Mr. Spiegel, enjoy your big raise and large salary all while your lowly employees scrape by and try to provide a good Christmas for their families.
Mike Cox
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Couldn't agree with you more, Mr. Cox. Corporate greed in the private sector is disgusting, in the public downright appalling.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Speigal, oops, I guess it would be Happy Holidays, enjoy your ill gotten gain. I would like to apologize for your greed to all the employees who make Erlanger such a wonderful asset.
Mike Lawrence
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As the country's tenth largest public health system, it is difficult to compare Erlanger with other hospitals around the corner, or even around the state. Erlanger provided more than $86 million in uncompensated care last year alone, yet despite being one of the nation's largest public health systems, Erlanger received less financial support than any other public health system in the country.
Despite a lack of robust funding and the tens of millions of dollars in uncompensated care we provide to this community, Erlanger still remains the region's low cost provider. Without a doubt, there was considerable room for financial improvement within the organization when Mr. Spiegel arrived. Under his leadership and direction, the executive team made decisions that righted the listing ship as well as steered the ship back onto course.
The financial markets list this year's outlook for health care organizations as poor. Despite this, Mr. Spiegel and Erlanger recently created considerable buzz on Wall Street by refinancing Erlanger's current bonds and securing additional bonds for capital projects. There was great interest among leading investors in purchasing Erlanger bonds; all available bonds sold quickly, with enough additional interest to create even more positive returns for the health system. Wall Street and the investors asked tough questions of our CEO and his team and were more than satisfied that Erlanger was on the right course, with the right leadership, and strong plans to sustain the turnaround.
The acquisition and retention of talent requires adequate compensation. The same is true for the executive and management staff at Erlanger. Without proper compensation, management and executive positions become revolving doors filled for short periods with individuals who may or may not be suited for their positions. The performance payout is actually structured as part of a manager's total compensation plan. Added compensation is paid only if the hospital meets certain financial and quality benchmarks. If the hospital performs well in both quality and finances, then the management team receives additional variable compensation, which is a common practice within many industries. This type of formula helps insure that quality does not suffer in response to financial changes.
One anonymous nurse has stated that morale amongst the physicians and staff was at an all-time low and I wholeheartedly disagree with this assessment. I have been affiliated with Erlanger for the better part of 15 years, and have been a firsthand witness to the waxing and waning of morale from both the hospital and the medical staff. I frequently attend medical staff meetings and hear officers of the medical staff praise Mr. Spiegel and his team for their engagement with the medical staff and for Mr. Spiegel's willingness to listen and make changes based upon input from the medical staff.
Furthermore, our Executive Nursing Officer Dr. Jan Keys, in concert with Mr. Spiegel, has approved bedside positions where a documented need existed. Many department heads have indicated to me that staffing in their departments has greatly improved over previous years.
Erlanger spends 53 percent of every dollar on wages and benefits for employees and with this latest 2 percent raise, our health system has paid almost $15 million in raises to its employees over the past two years.
However, Erlanger's impact does not end with just those wages and benefits, as Erlanger's annual economic impact to this community approached three billion dollars last year alone.
Compared to Erlanger's long history in Chattanooga, Mr. Spiegel has been at the helm only a short time. Despite this relatively short period, he has undoubtedly changed the course and the destiny of Erlanger. In light of this dramatic turn around, Mr. Spiegel and his team have my full support.
Clearly, additional work remains to be done and new benchmarks remain to be met. But Erlanger is already experiencing an extremely strong first and second quarter this fiscal year, and I strongly support the performance incentive payouts in recognition of the many accomplishments achieved to date.
William Crowe Jr.
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I want to commend Mr. Crowe on a well written and factual response regarding the Erlanger bonuses. I completely agree with him and his assertion of the excellent work done by Erlanger management. We have found a top talent in Mr. Spiegel and I hope the hospital and community do what it takes to keep this top talent a part of our healthcare system.
Daniel Kueter, MD