The hospital’s newest vice-president wins this week’s award for stating the obvious when she proclaimed, “We’re on the right track here, for sure, in seeing the success that you can have when you continue to to keep the patient at the centre of everything that you do.”
It’s that kind of bafflegab logic from top executives at St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital, like Karen Davies quoted above, that is being raised up the flagpole to justify sending four individuals 15,000 km to Singapore to get a glimpse at how their healthcare system operates.
When questioned by T-J reporter Nick Lypaczewski this week, patient-centered care was incorporated into as many answers as possible.
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Category Archives: public sector salary disclosure
There’s no lack of sunshine this winter over at city hall

After a quiet year in 2011, membership in the city’s Sunshine Club fairly blossomed last year, as outlined in a report to be received Monday by St. Thomas council.
In his public sector salary disclosure report, human resources director Graham Dart reveals membership in the $100,000 club mushroomed from 39 city hall employees in 2011 to 58 in 2012.
Of that total, 17 are from the city’s police department (up from 11 in 2011); 28 are from the fire department (17 in 2011) and 13 from city administration (an increase of only 2 over 2011).
We’ll compile a complete city list for next week, however here are highlights to tide you over.
The top earner at city hall is CAO Wendell Graves at $166,315, up from $146,217 in 2011. He supplants police chief Bill Lynch, who topped the list in 2011 at $150,976. He clocked in last year at $161,984.
Many city administrators saw their salary increase by about $5,000 last year in what was supposed to be an austerity push.
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No need to look to Ottawa for political shell games
We briefly alluded last week to the 2011 public sector salary disclosure for city hall employees who earned more than $100,000.
Here is the full list and the previous year’s salary in brackets:
Bridge, Tim, lead hand building maintenance – $101,483.03 (new)
Brisseau, Mark, captain fire department – $107,871.76 ($106,709.75)
Broadbent, Robert, fire chief – $127,496.56 ($120,384.15)
Butters, Kevin, captain fire department – $104,962.28 ($101,462.01)
Carroll, Michael, Valleyview administrator – $107,975.14 ($107,836.12)
Dart, Graham, director human resources – $116,552.80 ($116,435)
Slim pickin’s in 2011 for city’s Sunshine Club
An initial scan of the public sector salary disclosure for city hall employees seems to indicate restraint was in order in 2011.
A total of 39 city employees are ensconced in the Sunshine Club — those earning in excess of $100,000 — unchanged from 2010.
Topping the list is police chief Bill Lynch at $150, 976, but that’s a decrease of almost $7,000 from his previous salary reporting.
A close second is the city’s new CAO/clerk, Wendell Graves, checking in at $146,217. As city clerk only in 2010, Graves earned $126,338.
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Hospital CEO pay to soar as boards use big banks to justify excess
The following is a media release from Service Employees International Union (SEIU). It’s a situation residents of St. Thomas/Elgin can relate to with the case of St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital CEO Paul Collins’ retire/rehire in June 2010 in a classic example of double dipping. While his salary is stable this year, watch for the nature of salary increases over the remainder of his five-year contract.
TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2011 /CNW/ – Hospital CEO pay will only continue to soar in the wake of a report that uses the salaries of big-bank CEOs and millionaire insurance executives as a benchmark, according to a union representing more than 50,000 healthcare workers in Ontario.
“Hospital CEOs are out of touch and should be held accountable to the public, not to Bay Street,” said Sharleen Stewart, head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
SEIU called on Ontario to follow the example of other provinces by stepping in to directly set compensation for executives at publicly-funded hospitals, starting with a salary cap. The union representing hospital workers urged the province to conduct a truly-independent review – with input from frontline staff – that looks at excessive layers of management in the health system.
“Public hospitals were built to provide people with necessary medical care, not for executives to use as personal piggy banks.”
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Behind the scenes financially after the 2010 municipal vote
Lost in the swirl of indignation following Round 2 of public sector salary disclosures this week were revelations contained in the financial declarations of all candidates in the 2010 municipal election.
This week, we’ll take a look at the three mayoral contestants in what proved, at times, to be a nasty battle, with the beleaguered Sutherland Press building serving as a bizarre backdrop.
Suffering through a double downside was Al Riddell, who lost at the polls and in the pocket.
According to his financial declaration, Riddell poured $17,062.69 into his bid to sit as mayor, nearly double the combined amount of the other two candidates.
That works out to nearly $6 for every vote he garnered. A poor investment for a third-place finish.
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2010 Public Sector Salaries, Elgin/St. Thomas health sector
Salary figures released March 31,2011 for 2010 – 2009 salary in brackets.
St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital
Collins, Paul – President/Chief Executive Officer – $205,569.00
($204,727)
Craig, Dr. Ian – Pathologist – $240,078.28 ($469,263)
Ferizovic, Hamumka – Registered Nurse – $105,714.23 (new)
Fletcher, Kathryn Ann – Pharmacist -$122,931.17 ($115,866)
Grant, Anita – Director, Patient Care – $107,092.01 ($108,617)
Hillman, Mary-Ellen – Registered Nurse – $108,295.56 ($103,804)
Hopkins, Malcolm – Vice-president, corporate services – $154,763.82
($154,130)
Kolator-Cotnam, Susan – Pharmacist – $107,591.27 ($103,929)
Lambert, Brenda – Vice-president, patient services – $129,872.10
($128,995)
Misch, Christopher – Director, quality risk & safety – $104,920.33
(new)
Moore, Ann – Registered Nurse – $105,195.49 ($104,711)
Pinnell, Mary Katherine – Registered Nurse – $112,769.30 (new)
Thompson, Heather – Director, patient care – $105,218.27 ($105,387)
Wasty, Dr. Fasahat – pathologist – $334,805.43 ($334,805)
Elgin St. Thomas Public Health
Kuntz, Carolyn – Director, health promotion – $105,081.70 ($114,221)
McLachlin – Director, health protection – $107,110.60 ($114,221)
St. John, Cynthia – Executive Director – $135,735.60 ($150,075)
Canadian Mental Health Association, Elgin branch
Debruyn, Heather – $109,194.68 ($104,541)
Community Living Elgin
McCallum, Tom – Executive Director – $103,610.00 ($103,610)
Family and Children’s Services of St. Thomas and Elgin
Potgieter, Rod, Executive Director – $139,903.71 ($135,000)
Flegel, Dawn, Director of Service $105,224.86 (new)
West Elgin Community Health Centre
George, Kim, Physician – $203,001.00 (new)
Mardell, Kevin physician $266,891.00 ($259,400)
Chief Bill Lynch explains why his salary in 2010 tops the list at city hall
The highest-earning municipal employee in St. Thomas in 2010 was St. Thomas police Chief Bill Lynch, who earned $157,133, up from $135,424 the previous year.
In addition the number of members of the St. Thomas Police Service who earned in access of $100,000 in 2010 more than doubled to 13, from six in 2009.
City Scope talked to Lynch on Friday, the same day the figures were published in the Times-Journal, to ascertain what is behind the substantial increase in his salary and the swelling of the ranks in the so-called sunshine club with police officers.
“Probably the single biggest reason – last year’s salaries have a lot of retroactivity in them from 2009,” Lynch explained.
” A lot of that is what puts them over. Retroactive pay from 2009 because the contract did not get settled until around August of 2010.”
2010 Public Sector Salaries, County of Elgin
Figures released for 2010 (2009 salary in brackets)
BEECH-ROBERTS,RHONDA Director, Long Term Care Homes $117,125 ($110,686)
BRYCE, ROB Director of Human Resources $105,568 (new)
BUNDSCHUH, JIM $122,805 ($111,885)
MCDONALD,MARK Chief Administrative Officer $170,880 ($160,700)
WATTERS, CLAYTON Director, Engineering Services $112,819 ($110,686)
