Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital's board of directors worked for free for decades. But after a recent vote, that may no longer be the case, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Fourteen members of the hospital's 15-member board voted to compensate themselves for their service. Annual compensation would be between $15,000 and $30,000, depending on each member's role.
The board — which is made up of physicians, bankers and philanthropists — meets six times per year, and members serve on a variety of committees.
However, not everyone on the board of directors wants to be paid. One board member wanted nothing to do with compensation efforts. David A. Straz Jr. — for whom the Tampa-based David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts is named — was the only board member to vote against the decision. According to hospital spokesman John Dunn, Mr. Straz said he wouldn't accept compensation for certain reasons — one such reason being that board service is included in their current job description.
Claiming he was "very disappointed" in the decision, Mr. Straz quit the board of directors. He had served on it for almost two decades. "I think it's a horrible idea," Mr. Straz said. "Tampa General is a very important community asset. Those of us in the community need to donate our services to make those kinds of things better for all of our people in the community."
Mr. Dunn said the board members haven't been paid, and a schedule for doing so isn't yet in place, according to the report. "The board believes this is a useful tool to have in the future as the hospital world expands and the hospital gets a lot more complex," said Mr. Dunn, according to the report. "There may be a time when you have to consider paying board members with different types of expertise."
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