Well folks, this very article is the reality that it is bad and it is going to be a whopper this time around. There are two things in life that are a sure thing, death and taxes, and when you start to lay off people in one of those two fields, it is bad. The first thing I am sure that everyone will do is to point blame at the higher paid persons at the medical center. In all reality if you look at the salary level of other CEO's across the country this is not a heart stopping amount. I have to commend EMMC in their efforts to cut costs, the construction of the facility to generate its own electricity, at least they are taking measures to curb spending on other capital items as well.

Yep, we lose money on every patient that comes thru the door -- but we're still building more doors.

I'm glad that my job in the textile industry is secure

It is as bad as it gets when it affects patient care. But then most of the ops are clinical care of in support of it. At least, they are attriting vacancies and the impact will affect only(?) 24 workers. But if you are one them, it's a tough time of year to be out of work. And it will add to unemployment numbers and to the assistance already being provided by the state etc.

What about the boat launch??

I wonder what roll the state not paying their bills has on these layoffs. Or the Dirigo Savings Offset Program? Construction delays in production are not "Savings". Delays cost money.

Dr. Raczek (salary $350K) is the same guy who last week wrote a letter to the editior complaining that that he and other hospital based Dr.'s cannot afford to see Mainecare clients. Anybody believe him now?

Funny no one thinks someone making $600,000 in a salary and benefits in healthcare is a problem but a State Employee making $50,000 shouldn't be allowed.

My most recent inpatient experience was a few months ago as a family member of a patient. It was obvious during those two or three weeks that the nursing staff is stretched very thin. But in spite of nurses carrying heavy assignments and prioritizing among their most critical patients, as well as spending up to 50% of their time with computers, their care was administered with a smile, patience, and professionalism. I fear that a reduction of a single clinical position could be the straw that breaks down the entire nursing team. I am deeply troubled to learn that construction and expansion will continue while quality patient care is further threatened. And although management salaries are said to be on par with similar positions nationally, a small percentage of reduction could save one or more clinical positions. A CEO collecting nearly three quarters of a million dollars in salary and benefits while terminating vital employee positions, and every employee is vital at EMMC, doesn't make sense in today's harsh economic times. Comparison with nationwide averages is not meanigful when the quality of care is factored in; few hospitals anywhere provide the high level of care delivered at EMMC.

Dig deeper, managers. Preserve and cherish those who deliver the patient care that sets EMMC a step above the "nationwide average" hospitals.

I can only speculate that the jobs being cut are NOT the big money earners. How about looking at the layers and layers of administration? How about cutting some of the catering that takes place thoughout the faciity.....carts going here and there to provide food for this meeting or that meeting. There are many areas that could be looked at they will not affect patient care.

A time of cost cutting has arrived in Healthcare. I can't wait to see how much fat is cut from the top wage earners. Those who tell us its the life style that draws them to Maine and to EMMC. Are they willing to get paid less and lose some perks to stay in our area?

Perhaps if the state took some of it's stimulus to pay their healthcare bills it might "stimulate" healthcare facilities to keep their employees and continue to treat low income and under insured patients. The truly sad part of the job cuts is that EMMC staff are constantly being mandated to improve their services, i.e., their Patient First initiative. The concept is a truly phenominal one, and makes all the difference in a patient stay/visit. What is also phenominal is the lack of resources available to the staff who are mandated to do so much more with so much less. The higher the demand on staff gets the fewer resources they have, due to all the cuts. Patients lose, and so do the staff who genuinely care about them.

The state should hold themselves as accountable for paying medical bills as the IRS holds us, the people, for paying taxes.

its a sad day when we can't get proper medical care...

Never mind DCJ's salary. Let's talk about Baldacci/Dirigo/MaineCare. How much is owed to all the hospitals in Maine? EMMC is owed millions. Let's discuss THAT!

The problem here folks, is the mandate to treat the infirm, the depressed, the drug abused, the lame the halt the sick the blind, in fact anyone who comes to their doors with problems real or imagined. Such a huge demand upon our economy!

LOL and my ambulance ride a month ago and hospital care cost $1,300

how about that

$490 for the ambulance to the Bangor Fire Department

$930 for 6 hours in ER

LOL, I ain't payin' them

Pretty sad when Bangor's # 1 industry is healthcare. If I was the CEO of a hospital in that market I would be concerned. After all, if that is the #1 industry, where is the money to pay for it coming from? The pot at the end of the rainbow is still a pot. It can be emtptied. Simply put: Less people have insurance or can't afford the deductibles and cannot afford the healthcare in this market any more. I wonder what percentage of a health care bill is actaullt attributed to the actual health care? 10%? With the other 90% going to administration?

No with Lemforder going out and perhaps other niches of manufacturing to follow it is only going to get worse. What were we all thinking? We need to do what ever needs to be done to bring someindustry back to BGR. Not just talk about it like EMDC, MTI, SBIR, and all the other bull**** agencies that exist for their own benefit.

Lumber Capital of the World,...Healthcare Capital of the Region...

sadly this all will get much worse if Obama makes a big push for socialized (single payer) healthcare. Sure you won't have to pay for your doctors visit....but you wont be able to see him/her for 8 months, sorry. Does anyone think that the people leveraging to put this type of plan into place will actually have to abide by the same rules?

There is a reason Canadians come to EMMC to get cared for (out of their own pocket), because a waiting list means they will probably be dead....

I work for an affilate of EMMC and can tell you the whole EMHS system has been going gangbusters on squeezing every last drop of savings out of any area they can find. They are at the point where anyone from the CEO to the guy shoveling the sidewalk can submit ideas on cost savings with each one given a serious look.

That is an INSANE amount of money for anyone to make, let alone a CEO of a hospital in Maine. It's disgusting and shameful that they are cutting positions and still raking in that kind of money. We should all take our business to St. Joseph's Hospital.

Johnson's $700,000.00 package for what - a nursing or MBA degree - could pay 28 Employees with a package of $25,000.00 per year and keep some families afloat. This is as bad as corporate largesse, but it's tax exempt in its direct contribution to the City of Bangor.

BDN ... how much do your top executives make??

Their salaries have nothing to do with this cutback - you added in this in for no other reason than to stir up trouble and shift the blame away from your buddy Baldacci.

Another example of crappy slanted reporting we have gotten used to from your failing newspaper.

One thing that irks me is all the hospitals lack of uproar on how much money the state owes them. The state is a business and the hospitals are a business when one doesn't pay up a few YEARS worth of payments you should start jumping up and down more than sending out a press release once in a while. Seems to me they should start lobbying for the right to stop people at the door that don't have private insurance with the notification of "contact your representative and get them to pay up" and I bet the amount would get paid in DAYS.

Simplistic view I know....but when the State doesn't care to pay up even as hospitals are on the verge of closing (Blue Hill) it should show the hospital systems where they rank on the important list in Augusta...Even as they are mandated to take everyone that Augusta sends there way. Something is not right here....

BS Rick - I thinik if a non-profit that takes a ton of taxpayer money is going to pay people a half a million dollars, while laying others off, we're entitled to know about it. Especially when the hospital brass has been wringing their hands in the paper about how broke they are.

Retrain for what now? They said the medical field had a shortage of workers? That the jobs were secure? Guess I'll wait for my Paper Mill job to come back from China. I'm sure it will be soon.

If the State of Maine paid the hospitals the millions of dollars it owes them, then hospital employees wouldn't be losing their jobs. Blue Hill might not have to close, the state could save money by paying hopsitals, they would not have to pay unemployment to these people, give them food stamps or providing them with maine care if applicable. Maybe the State of Maine should stop writing checks it can't cash. Things will just get worse, what happens when more smaller hospitals close will people be forced to only recieve care in Bangor, Augusta, or Portland.

Socialized medicine is the only way to go. Canadians may complain about waiting for non-life-threatening procedures, but why do they have longer life expectancy than the US in a harsher climate? The problem is the for-profit insurance companies and the fat cats who run them.

Agreed Rick32. I can understand why some people would jump to the salary issue as a way "out" versus employee cutbacks. However under CEO Johnson's leadership EMMC has grown leaps and bounds and has now positioned itself to be the only other Trauma I hospital in Maine. She has led the charge on technology, on process improvements, and on facilities upgrades. Her contributions to EMMC and her commitment to lowering costs while improving care are priceless gifts and worth far more than what she is compensated.

The State of Maine owes EMMC $74 million and is proposing a reduction in reimbursement rates. Unfortunately suppliers of medical supplies, technolgy upgrades, food vendors, courier services, etc aren't lowering *their* prices to be in line with the medicare reduction rates. Therefore EMMC is left to "cover the costs" of all of these ancillary suppliers in order to continue to provide quality care to these policy holders. Healthcare isn't cheap to produce -- and quality healthcare is even more expensive. Kudos to CEO Johnson for all her hard work and dedication to our Region.

It is unfortunate that the BDN chose to publish salaries of the two top Executives -- it is truly irrelevant to the story itself and only seeks to insinuate that they have the answer to this continued struggle.

Affordable health care!!! Maybe when the insuranse companies start refusing to pay 28 dollars for a tylenol.EMMC is a pretty building but you don't want to be poor to go there!!! Unless of course you are unwed and pregnant. M.Martin

We should be ashamed to allow the CEO of EMHC to draw that type of pay. Make your voices heard!!!!!! Let the EMHC board members know how you feel, whether in support or againist. To allow DJC to layoff people, while being paid that much broders on criminal....

Well the economy finally has hit healthcare too...what a shame, you have to wait so long here for a specialist appointment, now with staff reductions, less nurses, more PISSED OFF EMPLOYEES SAYING THATS NOT MY JOB, I A'INT DOING IT. Can't wait to see the moral in the ER DEPT there after the cuts are made. Yesterday a 12 year old girl died on surgery, and dont quote me, it was at either EMMC or St. Joe's...did staff reductions that were in place already contribute to that?

Point of clarification...DCJ is the CEO of Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC). Eastern Maine Healthcare System's (EMHS) CEO is M. Michelle Hood. I am sure MMH is paid at least an equal amount of money as DCJ and quite possibly more. EMHS is the "parent" company for all "affiliated" hospitals and organizations and EMMC is just one piece of the puzzle but the largest by far.

The BDN is a rag of a paper. This article is designed for one thing, to sell newspapers and get people to come online and comment. Thre is no mention of the tens of millions of dollars the state owes EMMC. There is no mention of the tens of millions of dollars EMMC donates to the community through FREE healthcare to those who cannot afford it. As avidreader wrote, there was no reason to post salaries in this article...it is completely one sided and a very unfair article to EMMC. DCJ is not responsible for these layoffs. The whole economy is in the tank! Point your fingers at Baldacci, Bush, Congress and all the crooks who allowed the debt in this country to get totally out of control. EMMC is doing the tought but RESPONSIBLE thing of trying to get their costs back in line with the current business environment.

"Asked whether executive salaries might also be affected by the cutbacks at the hospital, McDonald said she was not aware of any discussion of the matter. " Go figure... take the food from the little guy so the big fat cat in the corner office can get fatter!

I aslo agree with the other posts. The state wanted the MainceCare and Dirigo programs, they apprived people for it they need to pay their bills!!!!! Then restructure Maincare and Dirigo! If didn't pay my bills someone sure would hound me or come and take posessions, it is absolutely horrible that the govt an do this, it effects so many, not just the hospitals and their employess! Baldacci is a BAD JOKE!

You know it might help EMMC if the state paid them the millions of dollars owed for Medicaid patients. But, let's face it, that's not a state priority. Our state is into cost shifting the expense burden to any other entity it deals with to make it appear that the state budget is in better condition. Local schools and hospitals are financing a huge part of the state budget at his point, and that will probably continue until we get a new administration that has integrity and honesty as a foundation - and not passing the buck as a way of doing business.

Yes the state needs to pay its bills but they also have to stop putting people on welfare and try to get some that are on it,OFF. The welfare system needs to change it is not a career choice it should be a stepping stone for people. The state is not paying these hospitals but they are still required to provide a service. If you are on welfare you are not required to pay a co-pay, get a pre-cert , pay for prescriptions and they also pay them mileage. There is no deductible they have to worry about so why not go to the emergerncy room instead of your Dr.'s office they don't care if it costs more they don't pay it anyway.

Gee, Avidreader, so a compensation package of $700,000.00 is justified, huh? What was she making as head of nursing 15 to 20 years ago when what's his name was making over $400,000.00 as CEO back then? And what's AMAZING is how everyone in the administration supports the largesse - ARGUES for the largesse, when the rank and file get it stuck up theirs. The package equates to $336.00 per hour paid to the CEO, 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Excessive? Puleeeeezzzze.

Hospitals in Maine have become bankers for the state. EMMC now has an interest free loan to the state for about $65 million. But unlike a bank they can't force the state to pay back the loan, so other measures are taken when things get tough.

By the way, talent and ability, in the office of the CEO of a modern hospital, costs money. Whether or not Debra Johnson possesses that talent, I'm not qualified to judge, but it looks to me like she's doing a pretty good job. But if she were to be replaced, her replacement, to be effective, would probably cost about the same, salary-wise. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just go down to the unemployment center and find someone?

Cut healthcare but continue building a parking garage in what used to be Cassidy's Field.

That's the thinking that got the hospital in trouble in the first place.

Perley J. Thibodeau

Mainelyme

New York, New York

This is an informative article and people should know the details of how this hospital is handling it's finances right down to the salaries of upper management. In this time of economical uncertainty, people can and should shop around for affordable healthcare like they do on everything else they purchase. You will find that you can cut down on all of your healthcare expenses by shopping around. People who take the time to do this will find that they won't be wasting their time in the long run. There is always a way to spend less on something or downsize your purchases. It is unfortunate that some employees will lose their job at the medical center and they found out two weeks before it happened. I feel the medical center could have provided more advanced notice than that, at the very least to the affected employees.

Thanks everybody who took time to post their comments.

It is this type of community activism that will help make changes in our society. It may force the State to pay its bills. And ask the news papers to report more in depth and accuratley.

Kudos to Deborah Carey Johnson's leadership in having the foresight to keep EMMC on the right track. EMMC provides healthcare above and beyond what most communities our size have. With her leadership and foresight, EMMC will only get better.

THERE ARE NO LAYOFFS PLANNED at EMMC! If the paper would have actually done there job and gotten things right, what the public would be reading today is that EMMC is eliminating these postions, but that everyone is being reassigned to other positions within the hospital, no one is losing their job... a far less attractive headline I know, but a truth that was certainly not conveyed in the article.

Being reassigned to a position you didn't seek out is losing your job bgrres.

Don't anybody bother to believe that appealing to the EMMC board is going to do anything to bring salaries under control. They all have their hands in the till as well.

If you want the best managers then you need to pay for them. I would be willing to run that place for a lot less money , but I can guarantee that I would run EMMC into the ground. So bring a less qualified person to run EMMC and pay that person less and see how much more it costs in the end. It's all about value and apparently she brings lots of it.

Let's see ... DCJ makes $700,000 annually and is ultimately responsible for the action of hundreds of EMMC employees AND the outcome of every patient that walks into EMMC. That's thousands of patients every year. You want that responsibility??

How much do your favorite baseball, football or basketball players make each year to play a game? TV stars? Movie stars? Oil company CEO's? Bank CEO's ?

If anything, she is underpaid for the level of responsibility she has.

End of discussion.

Bangorian ... being transferred to another job is not losing your job. Not getting a paycheck is losing your job.

For all you readers who say Kudos to Deborah Carey Johnson with a package of nearly $700,000 per year please. What EMMC need to focus its attention on is health care and get back to the basics of what a Medical center is for .....helping the sick and you need NURSES to do that job along with Lab, X-ray and all the other medical staff that complete that circle. I would love to see the administration staff spend 24 hrs in the shoes of a nurse in the ICU, ER, CCU or any area and see how hard it is dealing with life or death decisions .....where are there $700,000 dollar per year pay checks? CEO Johnson might as well jump on the band wagon of the professional sports team with the expected salaries of the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. EMMC need to take a long hard look at what keeps that place afloat and it is not the CEO or the top brass making all this money...it's the common workers who give everything they have for what a pink slip and job pushed out the door so the CEO can keep a $700,000 pay check............ Hey Debbie don't you think its time you give a little ??????????????

Debbie started her career as a nurse at EMMC and worked her way up. I think she knows exactly what it's like to be in those shoes which is why she brings such important expertise and foresight.

And, the headline of the article is certainly misleading, but it's quite obvious that most of the people commenting on this board have not really read the article or understand the role EMMC plays in this region. EMMC provides quality healthcare for the northern 2/3 of the state. The care is given whether people have insurance or not. As someone earlier pointed out, there is a lot of free care given on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the state owes the hospital more than $74 million dollars. How would you operate if you were owed that much money?

Regarding the continuation of the building projects - have you tried to park at EMMC? Many employees park at offsite lots and bused to campus. How much does that cost? EMMC is carefully considering how to provide the best care for the people in this region. Sometimes that means having to invest in capital projects to improve care or make it more efficient. It would be pretty shortsighted to not look ahead to what the region will need for many years to come.

Nurse to CEO - powerful stuff!

If the BDN wants to do a real scoop, list all the hospitals in Maine and exactly what is owed them by the State! Any company that cannot collect for the services they render would take it to court and not only get what is owed, but court costs too. The State would have to file bankruptcy if all the hospitals did that. The State and Federal government require that all these services need to be provided, yet won't pay. Even getting the interest on that money owed could eliminate the neet to cut posistions.

Between the 1st and 2nd in command, they walk away with over a million dollars a year in wages and benefits and Jill MacDonald said there has been no discusion on them taking a cut. This just goes to show that EMMC isn't even half serious about cutting costs. Nobody is worth that much for doing that type of work. The President of the United States only makes 200 grand!

RIck - losing a paycheck is being unemployed. Losing your job is being transfered to one that you applied for to one that someone jammed you into. There is a difference.

I'm sure there are a lot of cuts that can be made at that hospital. For one thing these $370,000 + a year doctors could actually go in and take care of their patients rather then have a bunch of lower paid doctors doing the grunt work. My aunt was just in there and it was soo damn hot on the 6th floor every room I saw had a window open. Turn the heat down buy some blankets. Funny places like PCHC get over 100% pay back from all insurance companies. Including Medicare and Medicaid. Maybe that ought to be looked into. What makes them so special. Certainly isn't the quality of care they give you. And the top dogs could CERTAINLY afford a 10% pay decrease. Ever look at you bill and see what they charge for a couple of asprin or a bandage? Its borderline criminal.

They are taking the people and putting them in positions that nobody else wanted...obviously if a position is open with this economy it is not the greatest of positions. Also they reduced the hours for staff and are doing the same thing to them...you might be making $20 at your original job but they cut you 20 hours and put you in a job that pays $10 an hour for your other 20 hours. I seriously doubt that $200 a week cut from an employee at the bottom is going to make much of a difference in keeping EMMC afloat.

They claim 77 job cuts but 52 of these jobs are just jobs they aren't going to fill. Probably positions they don't really need anyway. The rest are going to be relocated in the hospital. Well talk to the people at Lemforder, E. Millinocket, New Page and Red Shield. I think these people at the hospital are meking out pretty good.

Hey, kingofmaine, if you dont pay it, I am. I'll send you the bill.

Facts:

Starting Nurse Salary: $25/HR (who said unions are bad?)

Employees @ EMMC: A little less than 4000.

1 Day Operating Cost of the Hospital: $1.5 million

Hey, what's the panic? Give him time and Obama will fix it. He can fix anything.

He cannot pick up the mess W made that quickly. It took Boy Wonder W. eight years to totally screw up this country

Here's a way for EMM whatever to cut some costs: Considering that the average salary in Bangor is around $36,000 and that the Maine average is around $46,000, all employees who make between $100,000 and $200,000 take a 10% pay & benefit cut. Those who make between 200 and 300 take 15%, those between 300 and 400 its 20%, and anything over 400 is a 25% cut. She's paid about 20 times the Maine average, and despite all here skills and qualifications, we can't afford her. Given the growing unemployment, maybe we could find a recently unemployed hospital administrator to take the job for 300. From another POV, since she hasn't been able to collect what the State owes, maybe she isn't so skilled or qualified as all that.

For all you who blame the State, or Baldacci, understand that your taxes will need to go up to make those payments. Who among us wants that? The problem is that healthcare costs too much, and part of that is from insurance company bloat, part is from hospital bureaucracy and salary bloat, but the biggest part is from our demanding service now for the results of our foolish lifestyle choices. So cut the salaries, get rid of the bureaucratic insurance and administrative nightmares, and stop expecting your joint-replacement or stomach-staple or colonoscopy "right-now" and costs will come down. We can't afford the brand new inefficient king-sized latest model system we have so lets look for an economical "pre-owned" system instead.

Here's just a small example: I work for a company that provides services to EMM whatever. Every contract term is analyzed by 2 bureaucrats who do the same job, one for EMMC and the other for EMHS. Do you see why EMM whatever costs too much? Did I mention that each of the affiliated hospitals has an employee who does the same job too? I see a quick way for them to save on more than just the whopper salaries.

awchasse ... you think you know how it all works at EMM whatever, but you don't.

It's surprising with your attitude that EMM whatever does business with you. I'm hoping you'll give us your company's name?

Agree with "avidreader". DCJ has been been a true leader at EMMC that we are lucky to have. And, what world is "Bangorean" living in where a CEO with @4000 employees and 1 day operating costs of $1.5 million works 40 hrs/day 52 weeks/year????(yes, that is 1.5 MILLION dollars/day to operate EMMC) This CEO never punches out! Calculate that stress, headaches, and heartaches of affecting people's lives. Who would want it?

We build more doors because more and more patients need our care and we don't turn anyone away. If necessary, free care for needy (and for those like "thekingomaine " that seek our service but refuse to pay, doesn't every business want a customer like that?) It would certainly help if the Satte would pay the $73million it owes EMMC!

Perhaps "JWBooth" has never had a family member affected by cancer, but if he had,he would welcome those much needed new doors.

Every job is important at EMMC, every program is not essential to meet the Mission, better non essential program positions to eliminate than the much needed bedside nurse... and every position that was eliminated has an opportunity to step into another job. Upper administration has been informing us for months that the economic environment is affecting us and there would be changes. ALL staff have been encouraged to look for ways to cut costs and aware positions were being reviewed to identify what could be done different to be more cost effective and continue to provide quality patient care.

I'd say DCJ truly values all of us and has made every effort to take care of staff working at EMMC,and we appreciate that.

Thank God for DCJ. She's worth every penny!

Well said kellied, we are very fortunate to have someone as CEO who is from this community and has a vested interest in doing only what's best for the future of EMMC and all of us.

It would be interesting to look at all the facts and not base any decisions on whether someone is like-able.

If I were assessing the value of healthcare provided at EMMC, I'd look at outcomes - what is the complication rate? death rate? How do they compare to peer hospitals? Then, I'd look at the cost of delivering healthcare and compare it to other hospitals in Maine. That would be the rub here. I've heard that the same procedure at EMMC cost two to three times what the same procedure would cost at MMC. Someone needs to ask "why is that?". I don't think it's related to the salary of the top 2 employees, but my guess is that they know and are either unable or unwilling to do something about it. That would be a great story to research if an investigative reporter was looking for a fascinating story to work on.

how come some of the comments are removed, especially the ones that zapped the big shots