January 11, 2012
Hospital releases
executive contracts
The Deep River and District
Hospital (DRDH) says it is prepared for “full compliance” with the
provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(FIPPA), which came into force for all Ontario hospitals as of January
1, 2012.
The inclusion of hospitals under this existing legislation came about
following a 2009 request by the Ontario Hospital Association to
voluntarily comply with this Act as a demonstration of its commitment
to improved accountability and transparency in the province’s hospital
sector.
The purpose of the Freedom of Information legislation is two-fold:
first, to provide a right of access to information that can and should
be made available to the public; and second, to protect the privacy of
individuals with respect to personal health information about
themselves and to provide individuals with a right of access to that
information.
“Our hospital has been working hard to prepare for the application of
this legislation to our organization,” said DRDH CEO, Larry Schruder.
“We have built a more robust hospital website and our staff have
learned from other jurisdictions, attended courses, worked through
implementation toolkits, and sought the advice of experts in the field.
“I am convinced that our organization is prepared to handle and respond
to any information request that our community members may have.”
In the spirit of transparency and accountability, the hospital has
posting a number of documents on its new website (www.drdh.org) that it
says “may be of interest to the communities served.”
Documents include board meeting schedules, agendas and meeting
summaries, executive contracts, executive and board expenses, related
internal policies, and the details of how to make a request under the
FIPPA legislation.
According to the contracts posted on the website, Schruder will earn a
base salary of $143,000 this year, with lump sum bonuses for
performance that “fully meets” or “exceeds requirements.”
Those bonuses can be worth five and 10 per cent of the base pay, but
are capped this year at $6,500 each due to the province's 2010 Public
Sector Wage Restraint Act.
By comparison, Pierre Noel, president and chief executive of the
Pembroke Regional Hospital, had reported earnings of almost $289,000 in
2010.
In a letter to the NRT, chair Paul Fehrenbach says the hospital board
feels its executive compensation policies are “both fair and
competitive.”
“Appropriate compensation is a key element in attracting and retaining
the kind of leaders that we need at our small, but very busy, rural
hospital,” he says.
“Your board strongly believes that the Deep River and District Hospital
has benefitted from the excellent leadership provided by the DRDH
executive team and that they provide full value for compensation
received.”
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