Faith Leaders Call On Catholic Health To End Bad Behavior

 

Today, the Coalition for Economic Justice released a report calling out Catholic Health on its exorbitant executive compensation and cost-cutting that negatively impacts patient care and working standards. Click here to read the report. Faith leaders were joined by workers’ rights advocates and workers to call on Catholic Health to reform its practices to better conform with industry standards. “As part of the Diocese of Buffalo, Catholic Health should be better than average when it comes to caring for the poor and treating its workers fairly,” said Joan Malone, Secretary, Living Wage Commission, City of Buffalo. “But what we found is that the opposite is true – Catholic Health consistently chooses its executives over its patients and employees.” The report found that despite its tax-exempt status: Catholic Health has accumulated on-hand “cash hoard” of more than $322 million, three times the size enjoyed by its local rival, Kaleida Health. CH provides annual compensation increases ranging from 15% to 17% for top executives, including an Executive Compensation Bonus System based not on patient care outcomes but on increased profits, resulting from reducing compensation to hospital employees. Catholic Health spends less than half what Kaleida spends on charitable care outreach. This is also less than half the average amount of all hospitals in the U.S. Catholic Health's cost-cutting has resulted in short-staffing, with potentially negative impacts on patient care, failure to follow health and safety regulations, and inadequate supplies of needed care items. The report also found unjust firings and other disciplinary actions against employees and a refusal to work with the union collaboratively to improve patient care. The faith leaders and workers’ rights advocates are calling on Catholic Health to drop its existing executive bonus pay criteria and institute change that can bring CH closer to prevailing industry practice, end outsourcing, pay prevailing wages  (rather than turn to “unscrupulous contractors"), end unilateral management behavior in violation of labor agreements, and improve workplace problem-solving. It's time for Catholic Health to end its bad behavior and start doing right by it's patients and employees! Please click here to read the report.

Today, the Coalition for Economic Justice released a report calling out Catholic Health on its exorbitant executive compensation and cost-cutting that negatively impacts patient care and working standards.

Click here to read the report.

Faith leaders were joined by workers’ rights advocates and workers to call on Catholic Health to reform its practices to better conform with industry standards.

“As part of the Diocese of Buffalo, Catholic Health should be better than average when it comes to caring for the poor and treating its workers fairly,” said Joan Malone, Secretary, Living Wage Commission, City of Buffalo. “But what we found is that the opposite is true – Catholic Health consistently chooses its executives over its patients and employees.”

The report found that despite its tax-exempt status:

• Catholic Health has accumulated on-hand “cash hoard” of more than $322 million, three times the size enjoyed by its local rival, Kaleida Health.
• CH provides annual compensation increases ranging from 15% to 17% for top executives, including an Executive Compensation Bonus System based not on patient care outcomes but on increased profits, resulting from reducing compensation to hospital employees.
• Catholic Health spends less than half what Kaleida spends on charitable care outreach. This is also less than half the average amount of all hospitals in the U.S.
• Catholic Health's cost-cutting has resulted in short-staffing, with potentially negative impacts on patient care, failure to follow health and safety regulations, and inadequate supplies of needed care items.

The report also found unjust firings and other disciplinary actions against employees and a refusal to work with the union collaboratively to improve patient care.

The faith leaders and workers’ rights advocates are calling on Catholic Health to drop its existing executive bonus pay criteria and institute change that can bring CH closer to prevailing industry practice, end outsourcing, pay prevailing wages  (rather than turn to “unscrupulous contractors"), end unilateral management behavior in violation of labor agreements, and improve workplace problem-solving.