The chief executive of Massachusetts’ second-largest hospital system said Monday that he would give up half his salary amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Dr. Kevin Tabb said he’ll take a 50 percent pay cut for the next three months. In addition, more than two dozen other executives will receive 20 percent salary cuts.
Hospitals are scrambling to respond to growing numbers of coronavirus patients, but they’re also facing financial challenges because they’ve dramatically reduced elective procedures and non-urgent medical appointments.
“Given these realities, we are instituting changes to executive leadership compensation,” Tabb said in an email to employees Monday. “These actions are appropriate for leaders to take in challenging times.”
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Tabb earned base salary of about $1.1 million in 2017, the most recent year for which data are available. Including bonuses and other compensation, he earned $1.8 million that year. Tabb has since been promoted from chief executive of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to CEO of its parent company, which launched in 2019.
All senior leaders at Beth Israel Lahey Health, the presidents of its 12 hospitals, and the head of its affiliated physician group, Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, will receive pay cuts, Tabb told employees.
But most of the workforce, including front-line doctors and nurses, will continue earning their normal salaries, Beth Israel Lahey Health officials said. Some employees are on paid leave because their jobs have been sidelined during the pandemic.
Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians is suspending contributions to doctors’ retirement plans and other changes affecting bonuses amid the crisis.
On Monday, hospitals across Beth Israel Lahey Health collectively were caring for 149 patients with confirmed COVID-19, and another 254 patients who were awaiting test results. Meanwhile, 158 employees also have tested positive for the virus.
Priyanka Dayal McCluskey can be reached at priyanka.mccluskey@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @priyanka_dayal.