‘Erroneous claims’: Valley Children’s responds to Fresno councilmembers
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Officials with the Valley Children’s Hospital released a statement in response to Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Garry Bredefeld’s letter asking the state to investigate operations at the hospital.
$2M bonus for Valley Children’s CEO: Councilmembers want state to investigate
This comes after the discovery that the hospital’s CEO earned a bonus of $2 million in 2020 -Todd Suntrapak’s bonus in 2020 was on top of his already established salary of $1.4 million for that year.
In the statement, Michael Hanson with the Valley Children’s Healthcare Board of Trustees says they have already made public the facts “that refute the erroneous claims” of the two politicians, and that “it is disturbing to see elected officials attempt to use children’s healthcare to garner media coverage”.
It is clear that these two local elected officials – including one in the midst of a political campaign – are simply calling for this investigation today to garner further publicity for themselves. It is disturbing to see elected officials attempt to use children’s healthcare to garner media coverage.
Valley Children’s Healthcare has already made public the facts that refute the erroneous claims of these two politicians. It has been our careful fiscal stewardship and the sound management of our investments that has enabled Valley Children’s to remain financially strong at a time when many other local hospitals are struggling or closing their doors.
This financial strength allows us to cover the cost of high-quality care that is far greater than what we receive from Medi-Cal and to carry out the mission of this organization – to provide high quality, comprehensive services to children, regardless of their ability to pay.
We are proud that our team of caring doctors, nurses and the rest of our staff are able to provide this care to the children of our community as we have for more than 70 years.
Michael Hanson with the Valley Children’s Healthcare Board of Trustees.
Arias and Bredefeld signed a letter requesting an investigation into the operations of Valley Children’s Hospital and its Medi-Cal receipts.
‘Disturbing’ salary and bonuses at Valley Children’s Hospital: Councilmembers want investigation
The letter states that Valley Children’s paid its roster of 28 executives $26.95 million in tax year 2021 -nearly double comparable to other California children’s hospitals.
According to the letter, for the tax years of 2020 and 2021, Suntrapak was paid $5.4 million respectively, in total compensation by the hospital. The Valley Children’s Board of Trustees authorized a $5 million forgivable loan as a retention incentive to Suntrapak that was allegedly used to purchase a house in Carmel, California.
Click here to read the full letter.
On Wednesday, the board chair of Valley Children’s Healthcare fired back at criticism leveled at the hospital, saying the salaries and bonuses were “guided by industry standards and aimed at attracting and retaining top talent necessary to uphold our commitment to excellence in healthcare.”
