Fourteen chiefs of prominent hospitals and health systems in New Jersey earned at least $1 million in total compensation in 2012, according to an NJBIZ report.
Among the highest-paid were Joseph Trunfio, PhD, CEO of Atlantic Health System in Morristown, Barry Ostrowsky, CEO of Barnabas Health in West Orange, and Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack University Health Network. Dr. Trunfio earned $10.7 million in 2012, but $8 million of that total was deferred compensation. Mr. Ostrowsky and Mr. Garrett were paid $2.8 million and $2.7 million, respectively.
However, million-dollar compensation packages are not uncommon at health systems as large as Atlantic, Barnabas and Hackensack, all of which have annual revenues in the $2 billion neighborhood. Tom Fuller, managing director of executive search firm Epsen Fuller Group, told NJBIZ leading a large hospital or health system today is as challenging as leading a top publicly traded company.
"While you have a lot of bright people running around the hospital who can do brain surgery, running that hospital is a whole different ball of wax," Mr. Fuller said.
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