Erlanger hospital left Tuesday's wrongful termination lawsuit in Hamilton County Circuit Court a little lighter in the wallet but perhaps with some lessons to build on.
The hospital agreed to pay former interim chief executive officer Charlesetta Woodard-Thompson $120,000 for three months' wages and $480,000 for "compensatory and other non-wage items," according to a statement released by the hospital.
The amount, according to the statement, is comparable to what Erlanger agreed to pay her more than two years ago but which she refused.
Woodard-Thompson, who had twice been the hospital's interim CEO, was on medical leave when she was terminated in the summer of 2013 after being passed over for the permanent top spot earlier that year. At age 65, Woodard-Thompson was not likely to have been hired for the top spot anyway.
But, in her lawsuit filed the same year and in the first several days of the subsequent trial, she alleged she had been the target of racial remarks, safety threats and email hacks and intentionally did not get a shot at the top job. Further, her attorney argued that her exploration of a number of internal conflicts at the hospital while she headed the ship may have hastened her departure.
Although the settlement abruptly ended the jury trial, Erlanger was likely spared another two weeks of testimony on the aforementioned subjects - and maybe more revelations - just at a time when its fortunes had turned around after several years of red ink.
The hospital, now firmly in the black, announced a multi-phase building project last spring and doled out bonuses to executives and hourly workers alike only days ago.
Unfortunately, with Woodard-Thompson's settlement, the agreement continued a string of payments to former high-level executives who left or were forced out at the hospital.
Payments over the last 15 years, for instance, went to former CEO Sylvester "Skip" Reeder ($516,000 in 1998), former CEO Dennis Pettigrew ($131,000 in 2003, following a lawsuit), former CEO Jim Brexler ($728,000 in 2011) and former chief legal officer Dale Hetzler (at least $229,510 in March).
Going forward, to go along with what by all rights looks like a sound bottom line, the hospital should endeavor to keep from being the petty, small-minded workplace Woodard-Thompson alleged - especially in areas of internal disputes and diversity - and to work closely enough with its executives that six-figure severance payouts are a thing of the past.