Tag Archives: Paul Collins

01.07.12
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Accountability and transparency — when mandated

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While this corner will continue to carefully scrutinize the wheeling and dealing of CEO Paul Collins and board chairman Bruce Babcock, we have nothing but praise for the doctors and staff at St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital.
With one exception — the dizzying diagnosis from the desk of Dr. Spin over in the hospital ivory tower.
It was contained in the preamble to a media release sent our way Tuesday disclosing the employment agreements for Collins from 2007 to the present, along with a bevy of executive expense reports and minutes of board meetings.
“We believe in transparency and accountability,” stresses Babock in the missive, “and to that end, we have posted a number of documents that may be of interest to our community.”
And, this has been done in proactive fashion.
Oh pul-eeeze.
Ever since City Scope exposed the resign/re-hire shuffle orchestrated by Collins and Babcock exactly one year ago, we have tried to pry loose this information “that may be of interest to our community.”
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01.03.12
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And you thought the CEO of St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital had actually retired!

Now that hospitals must abide by new transparency rules that took effect Jan. 1, we are able to access information that, in the past, was kept a closely guarded secret by hospitals, including St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital.

STEGH CEO and President Paul Collins

That includes two contracts dealing with the retirement/rehiring of CEO Paul Collins. City Scope has obtained the initial contract undertaken in June, 2010 when the sweetheart deal between the board of directors and Collins was first consummated, and the contract extension inked in October of 2011. The documents lay bare the dubious manner in which the retirement/rehiring was orchestrated and the secrecy that followed until City Scope uncovered the deal at this time last year.

It was only then that Collins and board chairman Bruce Babcock had the courtesy to announce what had transpired the previous June to hospital staff.
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12.31.11
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Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you

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“I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.” — Actress Marlene Dietrich

As a wordsmith, there is particular appreciation for thought-provoking quotes — be they humorous, timeless, or utterly mangled in their reasoning.
No one fit the latter category better than ballplayer Yogi Berra, who observed: “I didn’t really say everything I said.”
It’s been a tradition in this corner to greet the incoming year by surveying the past 365 days to savor the wit and wisdom of our elected representatives.
This time around is satisfying in that we get to recall the best of the best on the final day of 2011, a year which yielded a bumper crop of memorable moments.
As noted in this corner one year ago, when media scribes document a response or comment for posterity, they must be prepared for the inevitable charge of being taken out of context.
Or, as one anonymous wag noted: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.” 
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12.17.11
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A fundamental change blowing in the budget wind?

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Budget deliberations are a critical indicator of the direction city council will follow in the coming fiscal year and the sometimes quirky priorities of our municipal representatives.
After a warm-up session Thursday, council will get down to brass tacks on Monday as they tackle Part 1 of the 2012 capital budget.
Members are being asked to approved expenditures of just over $8 million, of which $2 million will be sourced through the 2012 property tax levy, the same as 2011.
In total, the requests for capital in 2012 total $22.4 million, requiring property tax supported funding of $9.5 million.
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12.10.11
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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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11.12.11
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Official statement from STEGH CEO Paul Collins on legal cases brought forward

Update on lawsuits filed by former patients of Dr. Cathy Frank. Those named in the lawsuits include St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital and CEO Paul Collins.

Here is release from legal firm issued Friday, Nov. 11:

Legate & Associates can advise that, since releasing the details of lawsuits undertaken on behalf of three women who were patients of Dr. Cathy Frank, over 50 women have come forward. The cases range from 2006 to 2010. Legate & Associates has been advised that complaints were made to the College of Physicians and Surgeons as early as 2006. It is expected that many more lawsuits will be issued.
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11.12.11
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Who wrote the book on cost of library move?

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Just how far do some people feel the pockets of taxpayers will stretch?

Well, if you’re library CEO Rudi Denham or board chairman Greg Grondin, you must think the budgets of hard-working city families are as flexible as Gumby and Pokey.

Can you believe they came to council Monday and openly admitted the costs of moving to, and relocating in, their temporary home at Elgin Mall were unanticipated and unbudgeted?

Did you expect the books, CDs and DVDs would wander over by themselves? And the good folks at the mall would let you set up shop at no cost whatsoever? Kind of an Occupy St. Thomas?
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10.29.11
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Morally offensive, but legal. Where have we heard that?

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NOTE: Posting the online edition of the Oct. 29 City Scope was intentionally delayed today to allow a rebuttal from Malcolm Hopkins, vice-president of corporate services. It can be found at the end of the column.

Based on letters to the editor over the past week or so (with another to print early next week from Malcolm Hopkins, vice-president of corporate services) the move to circle the wagons around hospital CEO Paul Collins is in high gear.

Of particular note is correspondence this week from Bryan White, a member of the STEGH transition team, who complains, “facts are being twisted or misrepresented.”

We’ll respond with what has already been stressed in this corner — any misunderstanding and misinformation has been self-inflicted by Bruce Babcock and the board of governors.

Remember, the orignial retire/rehire shuffle in June, 2010 was hidden from the public and even hospital staff until this corner shed light on it earlier this year. If the five-year extension is such wonderful news today, why the secrecy and utter contempt for the front-line hospital staff?
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10.15.11
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Any misinformation in CEO debate was self-inflicted

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The hospital refers to it as a media release. Instead, Wednesday’s announcement of a new employment agreement with CEO Paul Collins is instead a feeble attempt at damage control.

The five-year pact has proven to be a poorly kept secret and follows on the heels of the hospital board’s nose-thumbing in the direction of municipal councils in St. Thomas and Elgin.

Let’s put the hospital release under the microscope.

“The board of governors approved a new, final agreement for current CEO Paul Collins.”

The key here is “final” in the hope this will deflect criticism from chairman Bruce Babcock and his board, who have taken heat for not beginning the process of finding a replacement for Collins after his retire/rehire shuffle last June.
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