After selling $945.7 million in revenue bonds to fund a renovation project on its main campus, Cleveland-based MetroHealth awarded raises and bonuses to its executive team, Cleveland.com reports.
The system doled out a total of $270,927 in raises and $1.5 million in performance bonuses to its 14-person leadership group, which includes C-suite positions as well as those with roles in population health and the campus transformation.
MetroHealth President and CEO Akram Boutros, MD, received a $61,006 raise, which brought his base salary to $930,010. For 2017, he received a bonus of $398,072.
In comparison, former Cleveland Clinic president and CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, had a $4.5 million base salary in 2015, and Cleveland-based University Hospitals CEO Tom Zenty had a $3.3 million base salary in 2016, according to the organizations' most recent available financial records.
MetroHealth's strong financial performance in 2017, paired with the system's ongoing growth projects, warranted the executive raises, which were the first in about two years, Dr. Boutros said.
The health system's expansion meant certain executives took on larger roles for which they needed to be compensated, Dr. Boutros said. Those employees only receive raises when the scope of their work changes, he added.
Dr. Boutros does not anticipate new raises until 2020, adding that no future raises or bonuses will be awarded until MetroHealth meets its bond repayment obligations.
Compensation for MetroHealth's executive leadership team represents less than 1 percent of the organization's total compensation, Dr. Boutros added.
"What we try to do is be lean and efficient," he said.