HOBOKEN – Spiros Hatiras, the former CEO of city-owned Hoboken University Medical Center, received a $600,000 severance package and full medical benefits for a year upon his resignation from HUMC just a few weeks before the hospital’s operator filed for bankruptcy, according to a report in Tuesday’s Star-Ledger. Hatiras had been the CEO for two years when he stepped down.
The hospital is currently in the process of being sold to HUMC Holdco, a group that has common ownership with Bayonne Medical Center.
The article states that Hatiras was earning $400,000 per year, plus bonuses, at the time of his resignation. His payout was negotiated by Hudson Healthcare Inc. (HHI), the operator of the hospital that filed for bankruptcy, and approved by the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority, according to the report.
The article states that his contract was set to expire in five months, and called for a severance payment only in the event the hospital terminated his contract. The city is requiring Holdco to honor at least 80 percent of Hatiras’ severance package, according to the report, while some creditors in the bankruptcy may see much less than what they’re owed.
When asked by The Reporter on Monday afternoon to confirm the rumors that Hatiras received a $600,000 payout, HMHA spokesperson Doug Petkus said in an e-mail, “We are unable to comment on that issue.”
Councilwoman Beth Mason was quoted in the Star Ledger report as saying she thinks “it’s a disgrace that they are giving out a golden parachute while people like nurses are not getting paid.”
HHI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 1, listing between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors and somewhere between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities and assets. According to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing, the city of Hoboken and the Hoboken Parking Utility are owed approximately $2 million, combined.
For our cover story about the hospital from Aug. 7, click HERE. – Ray Smith