By Clyde Noel and Bruce Barton
 Domanico |
In a move intended to address the public access controversy surrounding El Camino Hospital CEO Lee Domanico’s compensation, the hospital district’s board of directors released his full contract to the public on Monday.
Speaking for the board, member Dr. Dominick Curatola said: “This wasn’t an issue for the public good; it was a personal issue raised by a group of physicians who have a grudge against the hospital and against Lee Domanico.”
Curatola, who has been the most vocal board member urging public access, added the issue has become a distraction in the face of more pressing matters facing the hospital.
Backing Curatola’s assertion the hospital has “nothing to hide,” the board also agreed to resume filing of IRS 990 forms annually, which make public the salaries of the hospital’s top five administrators among other hospital personnel.
The hospital district discontinued the practice under the previous CEO. However, recent pressure from various factions, most notably local newspapers and a group of anesthesiologists discharged from the hospital, raised the salary access issue at El Camino, a public hospital district.
“Ultimately, we believe the community is more concerned about the care the hospital provides than the salaries of its administrators - more concerned about care for their grandmother and their newborns than about whether the CEO’s salary is in the 75th percentile or in the 50th,” Curatola said in a statement.
The 17-page contract dated Oct. 11, 2000, includes a $350,000 annual salary (Domanico stated he made $441,000 in 2004), and an annual bonus of up to 40 percent of base salary, based upon achieving agreed-upon objectives ($174,000 in 2004). The contract also called for relocation assistance and reimbursement for “miscellaneous fees” on the purchase of a new home not exceeding 1 percent of the purchase price. It also notes the district would provide Domanico a “reasonable interest loan toward the purchase of a primary residence within two years of date of hire.” The contract listed a $750 monthly car allowance. Domanico reported a $9,000 figure in 2004 for his car allowance.
Benefits also include medical, dental and long-term disability insurance (60 percent of monthly salary) and life insurance three times his annual salary with premiums paid by the hospital.
Critics have suggested Domanico’s compensation is extravagant.
But board members said the hospital, at the CEO’s request, have for the first time, measurable standards and goals for determining compensation. “Lee didn’t want to be held to the whims of politics,” Curatola said.
“Mr. Domanico’s performance at El Camino Hospital has been above average and his accomplishments speak for themselves,” he added.
“We feel strongly that his compensation should reflect that performance.”
Operating income since Domanico inherited a $13.4 million loss when he was hired in 2000 has improved dramatically with income of $8 million in 2002, $15.5 million in 2003 and a $20.5 million profit in 2004.
