Erlanger hospital trustees Thursday approved the hospital's fiscal year 2011 budget, which caps increases in hospital charges at 4.17 percent aggregated and projects a $9.2 million profit.
All but one Erlanger trustee voted in favor of the budget. The trustee, Jack Murrah, former president of the Lyndhurst Foundation, declined to comment on his vote after the board meeting.
Board Chairman Dan Quarles said the budget sets realistic goals, considering that the hospital loses about $80 million in uncompensated care every year.
"Given the economy and the environment we find ourselves in, it's the best we could do with the resources we had to work with," he said.
Dr. Quarles said it's unfortunate that the hospital couldn't afford to give an across-the-board raise to staff this year.
"We're just looking at addressing as many of the most inequitable situations" in terms of salary, he said.
Hospitals officials have approved salary improvements for some hospital staff members, including $3.5 million in raises for 1,100 bedside nurses -- the employees whose pay is furthest below market averages.
Of the remaining hospital employees, about one-fifth are earning less than market norms for their position, and they are next in line for raises, said Jim Brexler, president and CEO, after the board meeting. He emphasized that senior executives will not receive raises or bonuses this year until all of those staff members earning less than market norms get a boost in pay.
Trustees also gave final approval to at least $5.8 million in spending, including the $931,000 build-out of space for, and installation of, a new linear accelerator for the hospital's cancer program, as well as the purchase and construction of space for a new 64-slice CT scanner for the hospital's emergency department, at a cost of $1.5 million.
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