Erlanger board members and officials are shown at board meeting. Kevin Spiegel is second from right.
The Erlanger Health System board on Friday night reaffirmed $1.7 million in bonuses for 99 hospital managers.
The board earlier okayed the performance bonuses, but then pulled them back after criticism, including from the legislative delegation.
The trustees, enjoying plush times with record profits, announced a plan to extend the extra pay to hospital employees. Steps are underway to develop an employee incentive pay plan.
Also, the board awarded a 10 percent pay hike to Kevin Spiegel, the hospital president and CEO who has led the dramatic financial revival. His pay goes to $748,000.
Henry Hoss, a new board member, said of the higher pay, "Perhaps, that is not even enough, especially considering what some other local executives make."
Officials said the Erlanger president had been paid 11 percent below market. The new pay brings the compensation "just slightly above the median of his range."
The board voted to move forward with another management bonus for the upcoming year, but the bar was raised on performance. Officials said the hospital must first turn a $10.9 million profit before the bonus comes into play. Erlanger, in this fiscal year, is far ahead of that mark.