Down River

By John Lipez

Tim’s a Bargain:
Recently having to cough up nearly $700 for a prescription for a family member, Down River has been making an increasingly conscious effort to stay abreast of happenings in the health care industry, from close to home to the rest of western civilization where we hear drug prices aren’t so high.

So it was interesting to read a Spotlight PA story this week which, among other things, provided the pay for the chief executive officers for health care providers in north-central Pennsylvania. We learned that some make money comparable or even more than Penn State football coach James Franklin (not the best benchmark) or even Penn State’s new $4 million a year basketball coach (yes, society’s values are skewed but don’t blame Down River).

As the Spotlight story noted, the health care providers detailed are all tax-exempt, meaning those organizations don’t have to pay real estate taxes to the municipalities in which they are located.

Who’s at the top of the list? No surprise, it’s the CEO for UPMC. That would be Jeffrey Romoff at $9.5 million and he covers all of UPMC, from Pittsburgh eastward and well into central Pennsylvania. Next on the list is Jaewon Ryu of Danville-based Geisinger at $4.6 million. It should be pointed out, these numbers were obtained from the nonprofits’ tax forms for 2020, the most recent year available.

Closer to home, the list shows:
•UPMC Williamsport and UPMC Muncy, former president Steven Johnson, $1.1 million.
•Mount Nittany Medical Center, State College, Kathleen Rhine, $1.1 million.
•Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, Kendra Aucker, $887,429.
•UPMC Altoona/UPMC Bedford, Jan Fisher, $791,814.
•Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, Kirk E. Thomas, $333,457.
•Geisinger Jersey Shore, Tammy Anderer (CAO for Geisinger North-Central Region), $315,017.
•UPMC Lock Haven, Ronald Reynolds (President), $278,000.
•Bucktail Medical Center, South Renovo, Timothy Reeves (Director), $90,683.

You all can pass your own judgment on what you’re reading here. A couple thoughts: will the compensation level at UPMC Lock Haven drop since it’s no longer a hospital? And, Bucktail Medical Center’s got a pretty good deal, with Tim Reeves far from overpaid in his continuing effort to keep the BMC fulfilling its healthcare commitment to western Clinton County.

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What’s in a Name:
Did you see the story in this week’s Record on the Jaycees’ Easter dinner served last Sunday for senior citizens?

A wonderful continuing gesture by this longtime community-serving organization. But they are no longer the Lock Haven Area Jaycees, now officially (and simply) the Jaycees. This was explained by longtime Jaycee volunteer/local writer Scott Johnson. It has something to do with the age group the organization can serve and its relationship with the national Jaycee organization.

Down River is not sure what it all means, other than the organization will continue its service to the community and is already well into the planning for its next Labor Day Regatta, a signature event each year in Clinton County.

And as for names, have you adapted to calling what we previously knew as Lock Haven University by its new name, Commonwealth University – Lock Haven?

Change can be difficult. Some of us still call the intersection of Susquehanna Avenue, Water Street and North Fairview Street “the college intersection.” And some of us still refer to LHU as “the college.”

Interestingly, LHU still uses “LHU” on its sports releases and occasionally elsewhere on school pronouncements. It says here that the LHU term will hang around for a while if not longer; much easier to say/spell than Commonwealth University – Lock Haven.