Life at Lifespan: CEO makes $8 million, nurses told no raises

Hospital employees are furious that Lifespan CEO George Vecchione made almost $8 million in 2011 the same year management asked labor to forgo already-agreed upon raises because of the struggling economy.

“At the same time hospital administrators were demanding caregivers do more with less, the executive board of Lifespan was authorizing a gluttonous golden parachute that would make even the most brazen Wall Street executive blush,” said Helene Macedo, president of the labor union that represents Lifespan employees, in a press release. “This sweetheart deal is nothing less than outrageous, and every Rhode Islander who cares about quality, affordable health care should be angry by Lifespan’s arrogance.”

Vecchoine was paid a total of $7.8 million in 2011, including a $4.4 million retirement bonus, according to a startling news report by WPRI last night.  In July, WPRI reported that revenue was down by 2 percent at Lifespan, which it used to justify a 3 percent decrease in expenses.

Unionized hospital employees and other progressives quickly denounced the revelation.

“We believe that people should be fairly compensated, but this extravagance goes far beyond what any reasonable or responsible non-profit organization should afford, and further demonstrates the executive management’s misplaced priorities,” Macedo said. “It is our hope that the General Assembly will again give serious consideration to legislation that would appropriately curtail these types of lavish deals that sacrifice quality of care for strengthening the ‘one percent.’”

Meanwhile conservatives defended Vecchoine’s lavish salary structure. Justin Katz, of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, blamed government regulation and former RI GOP chairman Giovanni Cicione blamed “leftist economic policies.”