Thursday, September 19, 2024

How much will new Freeman CEO make? Tax documents show Baker made nearly $2 million in 2022


While we have no idea what kind of pay package will be offered to incoming Freeman Health president/CEO Tom Keller, it's almost certain he will be making more than the current holder of that position Paula Baker.

That is not any reflection on Baker's job performance, that's just the way things are done.

People who are hired to be the number one person in almost any business or institution will receive more money than their predecessors.

If that's the case, it seems almost certain Keller, who is currently president and CEO of Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains will receive a compensation package of more than $2 million.

Freeman Health's Form 990 for the year 2022, filed with the Internal Revenue Service indicates Baker received total compensation of $1,810,362.







Baker's base pay as Freeman's head honcho was $998,822. She received an additional $249,706 pay for her work with Freeman's related organizations. Another section of the form shows Baker worked an average 54 hours a week for Freeman Health and 13 and a half hours per week for the related organizations.
Baker received a $399,642 bonus for her work at Freeman and a $99,910 bonus for the related organizations.








Among Baker's other compensation:

-$21,509 in "other compensation" from Freeman with $5,377 in "other compensation" from related organizations

-$6,960 in retirement and deferred compensation from Freeman with $1,740 from related organizations

-$21,357 in non-taxable benefits from Freeman with $5,339 from related organizations

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

This seems like good work if you can get it.

Do you have to know someone?

Anonymous said...

Yes. CEO is head honcho. All the other Freeman admin jobs like CMO CFO etc pay 25% or less than that. All the other Freeman admin losers are sitting unchanged with an intelligent CEO coming in.

Great news that Freeman Board did not fall for the inbred promotion logic.

The employees continue to mock current low-IQ admin. New hope with Tom.

Anonymous said...

Betcha her final year will be pushing 3M when they include severance, retirement bonuses, etc etc etc. she’s probably made $25M total as CEO at freeman.

Anonymous said...

She can't be gone soon enough. Looks like they are bringing in someone who actually knows how to run a hospital.

Anonymous said...

Skilled help is expensive.

Not good enough help is even more expensive!

Anonymous said...

Maybe they can get rid of the useless Overpaid employees in Practice Management who do nothing but micromanage the employees and try to instill fear in them instead of letting them do their jobs….They are unbelievably overpaid and don’t even have a medical background in nursing, etc…

Anonymous said...

They need to cut the head of HR - Head of Facilities - everyone one in Executive Suite - head of education. Freeman needs a complete U haul!! Then pay the underdogs what they deserve and teach the staff how to really take care of patients. Then once they clean house maybe the place can run like it did when Gary Duncan was there.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with Keller. WP is ready to bid him farewell. That place is about to go under.

Anonymous said...

I hear the board is fed up with the buffoons in the executive suite. ;)

Anonymous said...

Lord I hope you are right! Start getting rid of those at the top that do nothing to deserve the kind of pay they are receiving. Take care of the Dr’s, Nurses and the staff and the patients and they could boost morale and turn this ship around….

Anonymous said...

Yes, it is hard to believe that the Salary's of Non-Profits, who hold Administrator or C-Level Positions, are so High, while the Rank-and-File, who maintain and truly see that the Day-to-Day work gets done are barely even competitive. Yet, both Freeman and Mercy and most Hospitals have Fundraising Events and Free Volunteers to Help Cover - Costs, Expenses, and Labor. So, when you Pay upwards of $25.00 for an Aspirin at one of these Non-Profit Hospitals, remember you have to cover a Big-Nut of Costs for those Ivory Tower Administrators and C-Level Individuals.

To give you a Comparison -
How much does the CEO of St Jude's make a year?
Jude Children's Research Hospital. The current President and CEO of St. Jude, James R Downing, earns an annual salary of $1.3 million.

Tom Keller - Wouldn't even qualify for the CEO job at St. Jude's.

Anonymous said...

I think one “new” superintendent to buck that trend of making more than their predecessor was when Sachetta replaced Moss at Joplin. That was the last conservative board that we have had in Joplin. Everyone else runs like there is an endless supply of money!!

Anonymous said...

So with a general degree in psychology someone can rise to great heights and make millions in SW MO!? No MBA, no degree in hospital administration, business, nursing, law, accounting or medicine and she runs a hospital? Nothing special going on here. I remember when she was first appointed there was rumor she was having an affair with Gary Duncan (degree in theology) who was being watched closely at the time and quickly removed-he came out smelling like a rose. She ended up being their puppet. Maybe Freeman should do a clean sweep of policy and procedures and hiring practices across the board at this time and really vet their professionals so they have the qualifications for the job and current knowledge of the hospital business climate and contemporary practices. There are people in talent acquisition who are not HR trained professionals and overall operate like a small town hospital breeching patient confidentiality at every turn. Let's see what happens next-fasten your seat belts.