Executive compensation

[dzadzey, MSN, RN]

I work for a large NON PROFIT healthcare system. In 2004, the CEO of the system received some $1.4 million in salary, which is the most recent figure I can document. Taking inflation into account, his 2009 salary would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.7 million, which doesn't take into account any bonuses or raises he may have received in the last 5 years.

My question is this...How can such a compensation package for the CEO of a non-profit be justified? If the salary was an even $1,000,000, how many new monitors could have been acquired for the critical care units? How much more robust could the dare-care program for the children of employees have been? How many more techs and unit clerks could have been employed?

Just askin'.

[dcarriv]

exectutives dont care about patients, staff or anything other that the money they can get into their own prockets. where i work the ceo pay is similar, and lots of money spent on things that make them look good to the public, but does nothing for patient care. there needs to be a cap on what anyone can make who works for the hospitals including outside contractors and consultants. by the way i work for a non-profit hospital.

[annacnatorn]

Yes, amazing isn't it! We do all the work, expose ourselves to who knows what on a minute by minute basis, work 12 hr shifts, plus....

Some People/professions make MILLIONS a year and have perks beyond belief, they do nothing to help a person, save a person, heal a person, comfort a person, stand by a bed side watching some one die and the family is asking for one more day with.., and they either kick a ball, throw a ball, hit a ball, anything with a ball and get millions..what do we get...........................................................................

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100% Satisfaction knowing that we made a difference in someones life or made one difficult, horrible day a little easier for some one to handle. tis why I love Nursing....I am totally satisfied, tired yes, stressed yes, but at the end of my work day, I feel good.

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

They like to throw around the phrase "quality care" when talking to the public, while making it impossible for us to deliver it.

[llg, PhD, RN]

The people at the top earn lots of money because there are very few people in the world who have the skills to do their job. It's a matter of supply vs. demand. If the job only paid $100K the people with those skills would get other jobs -- in the "for profit" sector, leaving no one with the necessary skills to perform that work for the non-profits, who need talented leaders as much as, if not more than the for-profits do.

I'm not saying the OP's CEO deserved every penny, but as a group, those people deserve to be paid more money than the average worker gets -- because those people have special skills that are scarce in society.

People say the same things about nurses making more than $50K per year. They think we should be doing the work for less because we care about the patient. It is hypocritical for us to want to paid a fair salary for our qualifications, skills, and work ... and then turn around and criticize others who get compensated for what their skills are worth on the open market.

In short ... they make that much money because "the owners" are willing to pay that much because that is how much people with that particular set of skills cost on the open market. They make that much because they can.

[John20]

"Some People/professions make MILLIONS a year and have perks beyond belief, they do nothing to help a person, save a person, heal a person, comfort a person, stand by a bed side watching some one die and the family is asking for one more day with.., and they either kick a ball, throw a ball, hit a ball, anything with a ball and get millions..what do we get...........................................................................

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There are a tens of thousands of people(if not 100s of thousands) in our society that can be good nurses. There are only a few dozen people in our society that can hit a 90 mph fastball or run and jump with others in the NBA. Supply and demand. Athletes are the elite humans. We are very important, but a dime a dozen.

[maxthecat]

I guess I just have trouble believing that the executive skill set is that rare.

[David13, MSN, RN]

The people at the top earn lots of money because there are very few people in the world who have the skills to do their job. It's a matter of supply vs. demand. If the job only paid $100K the people with those skills would get other jobs -- in the "for profit" sector, leaving no one with the necessary skills to perform that work for the non-profits, who need talented leaders as much as, if not more than the for-profits do.

I'm not saying the OP's CEO deserved every penny, but as a group, those people deserve to be paid more money than the average worker gets -- because those people have special skills that are scarce in society.

People say the same things about nurses making more than $50K per year. They think we should be doing the work for less because we care about the patient. It is hypocritical for us to want to paid a fair salary for our qualifications, skills, and work ... and then turn around and criticize others who get compensated for what their skills are worth on the open market.

In short ... they make that much money because "the owners" are willing to pay that much because that is how much people with that particular set of skills cost on the open market. They make that much because they can.

Oh, puh-leeze! You could put a monkey in some of those offices and nobody would ever know the difference. Okay, that may be an oversimplification; however, I will never be convinced that a CEO (or any executive, for that matter) is justified in sucking that obscene amount of money out of the health care system.

[elleNY]

If I may play the devil's advocate... nurses here often gripe about outsiders discussing what a nurse "should" and "shouldn't make"...Is it fair to say that we aren't in the position to determine what an exec should or shouldn't make? When it comes down to the nitty gritty we don't know the whole story or what kind of benefit/asset/financial gain they bring to the business...Some don't add value, but many do. To rise to the executive level, you must be doing something right...whether that's legitimate or nepotism/networking, it varies. Like a previous poster mentioned, non-profit and health sector has to pay a lot because, at the end of the day, they still pay WAY less than the for profit sector...those execs can and do make 10 mill, 20 mill, stock options, you know the deal..So yes, attracting business savy star MBAs comes at a price..

[David13, MSN, RN]

If I may play the devil's advocate... nurses here often gripe about outsiders discussing what a nurse "should" and "shouldn't make"...Is it fair to say that we aren't in the position to determine what an exec should or shouldn't make? When it comes down to the nitty gritty we don't know the whole story or what kind of benefit/asset/financial gain they bring to the business...Some don't add value, but many do. To rise to the executive level, you must be doing something right...whether that's legitimate or nepotism/networking, it varies. Like a previous poster mentioned, non-profit and health sector has to pay a lot because, at the end of the day, they still pay WAY less than the for profit sector...those execs can and do make 10 mill, 20 mill, stock options, you know the deal..So yes, attracting business savy star MBAs comes at a price..

There is no comparison between the salary of a CEO versus the salary of a nurse. As I stated in a previous post, I will never be convinced that any one person should be sucking that amount of money out of the health care system.

The comparison between the salaries of for profit and not for profit executives is not valid either, in my opinion. None of them should be able to make such obscene amounts of money in comparison to the other people who work for the organization.

[PAROPPY, BSN, RN]

I'm not really sure a salary like that can be justified.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I guess I just have trouble believing that the executive skill set is that rare.

If you think it's so easy ... then get the extensive education and experience you need and become CEO yourself and run the hospital the way YOU think it should be run ... and donate your salary to the hospital while you're at it.

BTW: How much of your salary do you currently donate back to your employer? I'm sure a lot of the lower-paid workers at your hospital think you make more than enough and can afford to donate some of it back.

Any particular executive may or may not be worth every penny of his/her compensation. There are overpaid and undepaid people in every job. But as a group, their ability to make the big decisions, handle the politics and business at that high level, while also maintaining the public support to bring in the donations that many non-profits rely on ... are worth a lot to an organization.