Connecticut Republican senators are urging Farmington-based UConn Health to scrutinize executive pay following the academic medical center’s agreement with a union to extend nurse stipends — a reversal of a planned cut that had prompted concern, according to the Hartford Courant.
In a statement issued June 28, state Sens. Henri Martin, Heather Somers, Jeff Gordon, MD, and Stephen Harding said that “despite this reversal, UConn Health now has a major staff morale problem in addition to its perennial budget problem. Front-line UConn Health nurses are now justifiably suspicious and distrusting, and that points to management at the highest levels.”
The senators then urged UConn’s top administrators to take immediate action.
“Lead by example. Communicate with staff. Address the obscenely high upper level management salaries throughout the university,” they wrote.
“UConn Health already receives an enormous amount of money from overburdened state taxpayers.
“Make common sense and wide-ranging salary cuts throughout upper management. Restore trust.”
UConn Health and the University Health Professionals Local 3837 reached an agreement June 27 to extend the stipends for a year, after the system had previously announced an immediate 50% cut to stipends for more than 250 nurses aimed at recruitment and retention, according to the Courant.
Before the agreement, nurses expressed their concerns to the newspaper that the pay cuts would negatively affect patient care and staffing.
UConn Health CEO Andrew Agwunobi, MD, said in a statement shared with Becker’s: “We value our employees and following weeks of discussions, we are happy that UConn Health and the union were finally able to arrive at a collaborative and mutually satisfying agreement that extends the stipends for a year.”
Regarding executive pay, UConn Health spokesperson Mike Kirk said in a statement shared with Becker’s that Dr. Agwunobi, a physician with a Master of Business Administration degree, “is compensated based on experience, skill, ability, and the strength and effectiveness of his leadership, as well as the statewide, regional, and national market for comparable positions.”
Mr. Kirk also pointed to accomplishments under Dr. Agwunobi’s leadership.
“Over the last decade, largely under Dr. Agwunobi’s leadership, UConn Health has successfully brought about dramatic increases in patient volume and self-generated clinical care revenue, which has increased by $702 million or 150% over that time and now accounts for more than 72% of the institution’s budget, or more than $1 billion,” he said.
Additionally, Mr. Kirk said the academic medical center “has strategically positioned itself to explore major new opportunities for growth in the years ahead which would expand the reach of its exceptional clinical care and generate even greater revenue with the goal of making the clinical enterprise independent of state support.”
UConn Health is a medical enterprise affiliated with Storrs-based University of Connecticut. As of fall 2024, the organization had about 5,600 employees, including both full- and part-time workers. UConn Health employs 900 nurses.
According to UConn Health, its budget is $1.8 billion, of which 8% is made up from state support.
