A judge on Thursday let the state legislative auditor disclose the compensation of the only public hospital chief executive in the state who tried to keep his pay secret.
Slidell Memorial Hospital CEO Bill Davis makes $381,727 in base salary and more than $81,000 in benefits, according to a page of the legislative auditor's report that had been blacked out while the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 2, the legal entity known as Slidell Memorial Hospital, sued to keep the information out of public view. (See full report)
The hospital had argued that the CEO's compensation was part of its "marketing strategy" and "strategic plan," which is protected information under state law.
Baton Rouge Civil District Judge Janice Clark disagreed, refusing to stay her ruling that the information should be made public.
Oddly enough, Davis' base salary is lower than those of other public hospital CEOs in the area, including Patti Ellish, the leader of the other public hospital in St. Tammany, St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Her base salary is $423,494, plus $37,000 in benefits, according to that hospital's public audit.
The highest publicly funded base salary in the area belongs to East Jefferson General Hospital's Mark Peters, who makes $576,050, plus nearly $100,000 more in benefits and deferred compensation, according to EJGH's public audit.
