A $7.7 million payday at CHOP | Morning Newsletter
And lessons on the Jersey Shore
The Morning Newsletter
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Be prepared for downpours. The entire region will be under a flash flood watch.
In 2021, the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc in the health care industry. The COVID-19 death toll climbed, and labor shortages kept nurses and other hospital staff under duress.
This is the same year that the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia paid a record $7.7 million to CEO Madeline Bell.
Our lead story compares her pay to other CEOs of local and national health systems.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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CHOP CEO Madeline Bell’s 2021 pay is more than what the nonprofit hospital spent on free and discounted services to financially needy patients, or charity care, over the three previous years combined.
Her $7.7 million pay is the highest in the region for CEOs of 13 Philadelphia-are-not-for-profit health systems for that year. The bulk of it comes from her $5.6 million bonus. It’s likely that both the bonus and total pay are the largest ever received by a local health system CEO.
Note: Most Philly-area nonprofit health system CEOs made more than $1 million in 2021.
The pay package stands out on a national level, too.
An Inquirer examination of CEO pay at nine other large children’s health systems nationwide over five years through 2021 found no other pay packages that came close to Bell’s.
Continue reading to learn how CHOP justified this record pay.
What you should know today
During the 13th day of the search for Chester County Prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante, police advised residents of South Coventry Township to lock their homes and secure their cars. Cavalcante stole a .22 caliber rifle with a scope from a home the night before.
A Philadelphia judge dismissed the city Board of Ethics’ case against a super PAC that spent millions to support grocer Jeff Brown’s unsuccessful mayoral campaign earlier this year.
The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the Philadelphia region said on Tuesday that the church will temporarily cover up a Montgomery County monument dedicated to a unit of Ukrainian soldiers who fought for Nazi Germany during World War II.
If SEPTA doesn’t get more money from the state, riders should brace for $3 fares and and a 20% cut in service.
Employees of the Good Karma coffee shop voted to get rid of their union.
Little Amal, the giant 10-year-old Syrian refugee puppet, is coming to Philadelphia Wednesday.
Independence Blue Cross spent $3.3 million last year to influence health insurance and health care laws in Pennsylvania.
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law professor Amy Wax invited a white nationalist to speak on campus for the second time in two years.
The weather may still feel like summer, but the peak season for the Jersey Shore is over.
New, and many times wealthier, visitors flocked to the Shore for a pricey weeklong vacation, often elbowing out longtime visitors. It was also a summer of reckoning, with even tourism boosters acknowledging that the season’s economic picture was good, but it could’ve been better.
Here are a few lessons you learned, or should have learned, at the Shore this summer.
Don’t count on your favorite food places to stick around. That being said, you shouldn’t rule out their return either. LBI’s Mustache Bills and Blitz’s in Ocean City are no longer here. But the good news is that some come back like Sack-O-Subs in Ventnor City and Lil’ Saigon in Northfield.
Local, especially quirky local, is best. Check out Dak Daddy’s Oysters straight out of Ludlam Bay in Sea Isle City. Get your caffeine fix from Remedee Coffee, roasted and sold out of a beach block garage in Atlantic City.
Read more lessons from our resident Jersey Shore expert, Amy Rosenberg.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
A Philadelphia chef was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s best new chef this year.
Who is it?
A) Amanda Schulman
B) Emily Riddell
C) Camille Cogswell
D) Eli Kulp
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👀 Watching: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to push forward a Biden impeachment inquiry, but he has to avoid a government shutdown first.
💭 Wondering: When I’ll run into the Gritty-themed Jeep.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: Celebrity corn mazes
MERE BACTERIN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Brooke Smith, who correctly guessed Tuesday’s answer: Jason Kelce.
Photo of the day
We’re almost through the week. Enjoy your Wednesday!