Health Care District Board Approves Compensation Increase And Bonus For CEO Kelly Mather

September 5, 2014

The Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board has approved a salary increase and a bonus for SVH CEO Kelly Mather, citing her strong performance managing the Hospital during the past fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, and in meeting specific goals set by the Board. At its monthly meeting yesterday evening, the Board approved an increase in annual salary to $330,000, and a $25,037 bonus.

“Kelly Mather has brought a high level of energy, industry knowledge, enthusiasm and leadership to her role as CEO since she arrived in 2010,” said Board Chair Sharon Nevins. “Over the past year, she continued the transformation of Sonoma Valley Hospital into a health care center that is increasingly recognized for providing excellent quality of patient care, improved patient satisfaction, and a patient safety record that is among the very best in the nation.”

Nevins said that the new salary level places Mather near the midpoint in the salary range for CEOs of similar sized hospitals in Northern California, according to an industry report on executive compensation.

The Board considered the following among the results cited in Mather’s performance evaluation:

• Completion of the new wing construction and successful opening of the new Emergency Department and Surgery Center; and doing so on time and on budget.
• Raising $11 million in private donations to fund completion of the new wing.
• Increasing Hospital revenues to $53.8 million (from $45 million in 2010) through increases in surgeries and outpatient services.
• Developing a balanced, realistic budget for FY 2015 that reduces Hospital expenses by more than $2 million (necessitated by Medicare payment cuts) and implementing a cost accounting system that makes it easier to track expense/revenue ratios for all departments and services.
• Compiling a safety record that earned the Hospital a ranking among the top 15 hospitals (out of 2,500) in the country for patient safety.
• Earning a Medicare ranking that places SVH third among all hospitals in the region for low readmission rates.
• Gaining national recognition for excellence that includes receiving a Baldrige Silver award for the Hospital’s Skilled Nursing Facility and a Practice Green Health Award for Hospital sustainability practices.

The bonus formula was based on successful achievement of four quality-related objectives: high inpatient satisfaction scores; high Emergency Department patient satisfaction scores; excellent clinical outcomes (as measured by Medicare); and creation of community health care initiatives.

Nevins noted that patient satisfaction scores have been steadily improving and in June reached an all-time high for the Hospital.