As chief executive officer of a $146 million organization, Olympic Medical Center’s Eric Lewis’ salary is well below that of other area hospitals, much of them smaller than OMC.
Last week, the medical center’s board of commissioners closed that gap by unanimously approving a pay raise.
Starting Dec. 7, Lewis’ annual salary of $193,600 per year rises to $203,278. Lewis also receives a $350 monthly car allowance and a $50-per-month cellphone stipend.
“Our CEO is the lowest-paid CEO around,” OMC board chairman Jim Leskinovitch said. “He certainly … deserves every bit of this pay raise.”
Richard Newman, Chief Human Resources Officer for OMC, compiled a list of CEO compensation of area hospitals as of December 2013, using data from Gallagher Surveys, Milliman and Washington state Department of Health sources. The list shows the only hospital in the region with a lower CEO compensation is Forks Community Hospital:
• Olympic Medical Center: 78 beds, $146 million revenue; CEO compensation, $193,600
• Jefferson Healthcare (Port Townsend): 25 beds, $73 million revenue; CEO compensation, $236,775
• Forks Community Hospital: 25 beds, $23 million revenue; CEO compensation, $176,010
• Grays Harbor Community Hospital (Aberdeen): 104 beds, $104 million revenue; CEO compensation, $257,689
• Whidbey General Hospital (Coupeville): 25 beds, $88 million revenue (2012 total); CEO compensation, $232,156
• Island Hospital (Anacortes): 43 beds, $87 million revenue; CEO compensation, $350,096
• Mason General Hospital (Shelton): 25 beds, $86 million revenue; CEO compensation, $246,936
“We’re working at trying to catch him to comparable levels (at other hospitals),” OMC commissioner Jim Cammack said.
OMC’s board of commissioners approved a 10-percent raise for Lewis in 2012, raising his annual salary from $160,000 to $176,000, then added another 10 percent raise in 2013 to $193,600.
“Really, it’s the board’s responsibility what they pay the CEO,” Lewis said. “The board is just trying to make sure the salary is market-competitive.”
Added Lewis, “the board is expressing confidence in me and it’s appreciated.”
