Valley Children’s calls outrage over CEO’s salary ‘ill-informed.’ That’s a misdiagnosis | Opinion
The higher-ups at Valley Children’s Hospital spent more than a week formulating a detailed response to the local furor over the lavish salaries, benefits and perks awarded to CEO Todd Suntrapak and other executives.
More than a week to tell us, essentially, that they’re top professionals in their field and we’re a bunch of amateurs. That this entire brouhaha is a figment of “misinformation” concocted by Fresno media outlets and spread by local politicians. Founded upon collective “ill-informed readings” of the nonprofit hospital’s tax forms.
Valley Children’s is saying we’re ignorant for creating a huge story out of nothing. And that the financial decisions made by hospital leadership regarding Suntrapak, his merry band of millionaires and other monetary affairs have been nothing short of exemplary.
It’s both a weak and disappointing crisis communications strategy from an institution that up until now has benefited from nearly universal community goodwill and acclaim.
Opinion
Rather than make Suntrapak and board members available for interviews, or at least hold a press conference where they can be asked direct questions, Valley Children’s waited a week before issuing a 650-word statement Wednesday containing quotes attributed to Michael Hanson, chair of its board of trustees.
Hanson also penned a 1,000-word “letter” to the Fresno City Council but not specifically to Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld and Miguel Arias, the political odd couple that called for a state investigation into the Madera County hospital’s bookkeeping.
“I want to take this opportunity to present some facts about Valley Children’s in response to unfounded criticisms based on recent media coverage,” Hanson wrote.
“I believe it is important that you and other leaders in the community understand what the critics got wrong — and to understand what we are doing right every day for our community.”
You can practically feel the condescension oozing from Hanson’s words. Just as one might expect from a former schools superintendent known for his general haughtiness.
Hanson explains away the $5.1 million Suntrapak received in the 2021 fiscal year as a “one-time accounting adjustment” that occurred when two annual performance bonuses were reported to the IRS in a single filing year, per their tax accountant’s advice.
“The resulting compensation figure in our Form 990 for 2021, therefore, does not in any way accurately represent a single year’s earnings for our CEO or other top executives,” Hanson wrote.
OK, that might clarify 2021. But what happened the previous fiscal year when Suntrapak pocketed $5.5 million? Was that too a “one-time” adjustment?
Hanson doesn’t think to tell us ill-informed Form 990 readers. Or perhaps he’d rather not.
Interview with a view?
In the official press release, Hanson insists Valley Children’s “has always been dedicated to transparency and accountability.”
If that were actually true, the hospital wouldn’t have ducked and dodged multiple interview requests for Suntrapak and board members from just about every media outlet in town. (Nor would a post showing hospital officials accepting a ceremonial check for Panda Express donations vanish from Facebook.)
At this point, yours truly might be the only semi-upstanding member of the Fresno media who hasn’t submitted an interview request. But if Suntrapak would care to discuss the pros and cons of $5 million house-purchase bonuses on his backyard patio with views overlooking the Carmel River Valley, I’d be more than happy to make the drive.
Such perks are “not unusual at all” as a retention tool in the hospital industry, according to Hanson. Valley Children’s can afford to pay them due to “the superb performance of our investment portfolio and our financial stewardship.”
I believe Hanson is referring to the hospital’s $125 million in offshore investment accounts as well as property holdings that stretch across Highway 41 and include Cobb Ranch. He doesn’t specify.
“With regard to the criticism leveled against the Board of Valley Children’s Healthcare, there is no ‘there’ there,” Hanson added.
A little unsolicited advice to Hanson or whoever wrote that: Few things get reporters more interested in working a story than when powers-that-be loudly insist there’s no story.
Some have already trickled out. Stories that cast negative light not only on salaries and bonuses but on the level of care and treatment provided by Valley Children’s as well as the hospital’s own community benefits. More are surely on the way.
And judging by the deluge of reader emails and voicemails responding to what I wrote about customers rounding up at Panda Express, these stories will find a receptive audience.
Hospital leadership may think they’ve set the facts straight, satisfied everyone’s curiosities and put this matter to rest.
That’s a complete misdiagnosis.
