ABC-7 looks further into UMC CEO goals, incentive plan

University Medical Center has been under the microscope a lot the past year. Not just for settling a multimillion dollar debt with neighboring El Paso Children’s Hospital, but for executives receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonus incentives while laying off dozens and suffering a credit downgrade.

County Judge Veronica Escobar spoke with ABC-7 about the goals approved by the UMC board of managers on Tuesday for CEO Jim Valenti.

“There was some alarm last year over the fact there were so many layoffs and yet the whole leadership team still received bonuses,” Escobar said. She said she’s all about paying quality people for quality work, and doesn’t believe the criticism was about the incentive pay itself.

In order for Valenti to get any bonuses at the end of the current fiscal year, he must avoid another downgrade in the hospital’s bond rating and maintain the Joint Commission Certification at the hospital. The goals are divided into four major categories: patient satisfaction, quality of care, achieving annual performance goals and the financial health of the hospital.

“This set of goals focuses on patient satisfaction,” UMC Director of Public Relations Ryan Mielke said. “I think he’s been working on that this year.”

Escobar believes the goals will help carry UMC and Children’s Hospital into the future as they work to carry out the plan to resolve a $90 million debt that they agreed to settle at just over $49 million.