Here are seven things to know about Mr. Tarwater’s 2015 compensation.
- In 2015, Mr. Tarwater received a salary of $1.28 million, two bonuses totaling $5 million and other compensation, such as retirement and health benefits, totaling $305,318.
- The CEO’s salary increased by 26 percent from 2014, when he received $5.3 million in total compensation. Hospital officials have linked Mr. Tarwater’s pending retirement to his spike in compensation, reports The Charlotte Observer.
- Mr. Tarwater is set to retire this June after serving as Carolina’s CEO for more than 14 years. The health system has yet to name his successor.
- Each of the top 10 executives at Carolinas HealthCare received more than $1 million in total compensation for 2015.
- Like many other hospitals and health systems, Carolina’s uses consultants for help in setting executive pay by comparing peers at hospital systems of comparable size, complexity and performance.
- Some consumer advocacy groups have raised eyebrows as hospital executive pay continues to rise. On hearing of Carolina’s CEO’s latest compensation amount, MecklenburgCounty commissioner Pat Cotham told The Charlotte Observer, “It’s kind of depressing…nothing against Mr. Tarwater personally. He’s led a successful organization…Generally I struggle with these multimillion dollar deals. Is anybody really that valuable?”
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