By Clyde Noel and Bruce Barton
At least two El Camino Hospital board members felt CEO Lee Domanico did the right thing by revealing his salary at last week’s board meeting.
“It was both the right and difficult thing for him to do,” said board member Dr. Dominick Curatola. “To do otherwise would have ignored the overall good in favor of his personal principles.”
In a move that surprised the audience and his board of directors, Domanico revealed his pay structure for 2004 at the March 2 board meeting. He stated his base salary is $441,000 with bonuses totaling $174,000. His compensation package also includes health benefits and a $9,000 car allowance.
“I can tell you that I have been in favor of full disclosure from the start as there is nothing to hide,” Curatola stated in an e-mail to the Town Crier prior to Domanico’s action. “(The hospital) now has in place a far more structured and goal-oriented review and salary/bonus system than at any time during my 12 years (plus) of board tenure.”
While Domanico told the Town Crier recently that he had no legal obligation to reveal his compensation package, he volunteered the information “to assure I am not violating your trust.” Local newspapers urged Domanico to reveal his salary, citing that El Camino is a public hospital. The hospital was set up as a non-profit 501(c)(3) in the 1990s but has been run as a private business, although governed by a publicly elected board.
Domanico said it was the board’s position not to disclose the salaries of individuals, but he spoke out because he wants continued public confidence in the $300 million-plus rebuilding of the hospital that is taking place this year.
“I was happy to see that Mr. Domanico voluntarily released his 2004 compensation,” said board member Dr. Edward Bough.
He added: “Given that Mr. Domanico’s salary is determined by five diligent elected officials, four of whom make less than he does, the likelihood of financial impropriety is extremely low.”
“The facts are that Lee has more then earned his salary,” Curatola said in a Feb. 24 e-mail. “We did away with the (chief operating officer) position which he assumed when he took over from (previous hospital CEO Richard) Warren. If one wants to see comparable salaries you need to look at the combination of Mr. Warren’s CEO and his COO salaries and compare those with Lee’s initial salary which was in the mid- to high-300s when he was first hired. Most of all, one needs only to look at what he has accomplished and compare it to other hospitals to realize that his salary and benefits have been a great investment with an enormous return to the district.”
Domanico said the salary issue has surfaced because a small group of doctors and staff personnel are not happy with hospital management.
“I believe the interest in my compensation is emanating from a few individuals who are not pleased with some of the decisions that we made in the community’s best interest,” Domanico said. He has referenced the recent departure of a group of anesthesiologists, which was replaced in November with a new 15-member anesthesia group, Pacific Physicians Medical Inc. Hospital officials said the old group’s charges were among the highest in Northern California and it would not accept the hospital’s insurance contracts. Members of that group countered their rates were not the highest, just above average.
“Unfortunately, we know (Domanico’s salary) was not a burning public issue but an attempt by a disgruntled few to embarrass and harass a man they dislike very much,” Curatola said. “Frankly, they succeeded.”
