Writing for The (Bergen County) Record and NorthJersey.com, Lindy Washburn used recent tax filings to discover millions in severance pay given to the executives of Hackensack University Medical Center, an area nonprofit hospital. The kicker? The top executives got this money while being forced out, in part because the hospital board had been shocked to discover just how much they’d been paying the execs.
The compensation packages came in a year in which tax filings show the 775-bed medical center employed 317 fewer staff and Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its credit rating to Baa1, leading to higher interest payments when new debt is issued. Two law firms also recommended a top-to-bottom overhaul of governance, including compensation practices, after the federal conviction of a state senator who was a paid consultant to the hospital.
Beyond the headline, Washburn used the tax filings to detail national comparisons, a debate on nonprofit status and data on all sorts of compensation at the hospital.
AHCJ articles and tip sheets
- Digging into hospital finances: Recent trends and five key documents
- IRS study of community benefit activity and executive compensation in nonprofit hospitals
- Changes to 990 forms make hospital finance investigations necessary
- Reporting on the business of health care
- Deciphering cost reports helps paint picture of hospital’s financial health
- Veteran editor offers tips for finding health stories on any beat
