A million-dollar goodbye?
Embattled health system CEO has termination clause
Ahospital CEO who vacationed in the Caribbean over the holidays has a golden parachute worth more than $1 million in his contract with St. Joseph’s Health System.
The board of directors met Thursday to decide what to do about the mounting calls for action after Dr. Tom Stewart and his family spent the holidays at their private home in the Dominican Republic, returning Tuesday.
Non-essential travel is supposed to be avoided to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We understand that we are facing a very serious issue and, as a board, must take the necessary time to deliberate and listen to our staff and community,” board chair Sister Anne Anderson said in a statement prior to an announcement Thursday night that Stewart and the system had agreed to part ways.
It’s unclear whether Stewart would get the compensation if he resigns or is terminated. The contract dated Aug. 1, 2018, entitles him to 24 months pay if the agreement is terminated without cause.
Stewart took home the third highest public-sector salary in Hamilton in 2019 at $629,715, including taxable benefits.
His contract sets out an annual salary of $552,500 and a performance based adjustment of $97,500.
The contract also provides continuation of certain employment-related benefits for a set time, such as the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, the supplemental executive retirement plan, dental, group life insurance and extended health benefits.
The golden parachute isn’t paid if the contract is terminated for cause.
St. Joseph’s Health System has said Stewart was on approved vacation from Dec. 18 to Jan. 5.
It hasn’t answered questions on whether the board of directors knew about the international travel.
“We encourage and support our staff taking vacation time while following public health advice,” senior vice-president Brian Guest in a statement.
It’s also not clear who would pay the compensation. Stewart is president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health System, which includes St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Niagara Health, St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener, St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Guelph, St. Joseph’s Lifecare Centre in Brantford, St. Joseph’s Villa in Dundas and St. Joseph’s Home Care.
Under the same contract and salary, he is also CEO of St. Joseph’s in Hamilton and was CEO of Niagara Health until Wednesday.
Niagara Health announced just after 9 p.m. on Wednesday that its board had decided to immediately end its six-year agreement to purchase CEO services from St. Joseph’s Health System.
It’s unclear what the financial ramifications of this are for either of the health systems.
The board named its current president Lynn Guerriero interim CEO of Niagara Health. Other parts of the contractual agreement with St. Joseph’s Health System, such as joint programs and services, remain in place.
The Niagara Health decision prompted Thursday’s private board meeting.
Neither St. Joseph’s Hamilton nor the overarching health system have said if any other leaders travelled.
Hamilton Health Sciences and Mohawk College both say none of their leaders left the country over the holidays, while Mcmaster University and Burlington’s Joseph Brant Hospital say its senior leadership hasn’t travelled internationally during the pandemic.
“I regret this non-essential travel and I’m sorry,” Stewart said in a statement.
Stewart’s trip has already prompted his resignation from a number of boards that provide COVID-19 advice to the province.
Calls have mounted for St. Joseph’s board to take action from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and the Ontario Health Coalition.
“It’s shocking,” said coalition executive director Natalie Mehra.
“Niagara was in a hospitalwide outbreak and he’s off vacationing ... We have a major health emergency across the province — the likes of which we have never seen in our lifetimes — and to go off on a vacation ... I think he lost his credibility as a leader.”
Agrowing list of Canadian politicians have come under fire for international vacations, including Conservative MP for Flamborough-glanbrook David Sweet, who resigned from his role as ethics committee chair and announced he will not seek re-election.
It’s not the first time Stewart’s leadership has been questioned.
He resigned as Mount Sinai’s top doctor in 2013 amid a scandal regarding third-party contracts involving hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money with the Ornge air ambulance service.