PORT TOWNSEND — When Mike Glenn takes over the Jefferson Healthcare CEO office Oct. 4, he will be receiving $225,000 annually to run the 25-bed publicly funded hospital.
And he will become the highest-paid public official in Jefferson County.
The next-highest-paid official, Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser, earns $148,832 annually, with half of the jurist’s salary paid by the state.
That’s the same arrangement by which the $123,573 earned annually by Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell is paid.
The highest salary paid fully by the county is to District Court Judge Jill Landes, who earns $141,708 a year.
When Glenn, 48, a Sequim resident, left the 126-bed Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles as CEO in December 2006, he was making $163,425 a year, plus benefits.
Glenn will replace Vic Dirksen, who retired after 33 years as Jefferson Healthcare CEO. Dirksen was earning $140,000 when he left.
Jefferson Healthcare’s budget is $65 million, and it employs 360 full-time workers and about 550 part-timers.
Jefferson Healthcare also is the largest employer in Jefferson County.
The weekly Port Townsend Leader compared Glenn’s salary to other administrators — noting that Eric Lewis, head of Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles (annual revenues of $128 million) earns a base salary of $160,000 a year, and that Whidbey General Hospital Superintendent/CEO Tom Tomasino ($80 million in net revenues) gets a base of $230,000.
City of Port Townsend Manager David Timmons earns $122,372 a year, the Leader noted.
Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley gets $116,699; Port of Port Townsend Executive Director Larry Crockett, $110,000; Jefferson Public Utility District Manager Jim Park, $88,000.
In addition to Glenn’s salary, the hospital sent $80,000 for a personnel search firm to hunt nationwide for a new CEO
Glenn’s salary is about $75,000 a year less than what he was getting as senior vice president of business development for Valley Medical Center, a 303-bed, public hospital district in Renton.
Glenn said that he plans to examine local health care needs — and then set a new course for the hospital.
“One of the first things I do will be to meet with the medical staff and the leadership team,” he said from his office in Renton.
“I will need to understand the type of services that are being offered and learn the nuances of the system before deciding what to do next.”
Jill Buhler, hospital board chairwoman, doesn’t think that Glenn will need a lot of adjustment time.
“He knows the area and the issues and will be able to hit the ground running,” she said.
When Glenn takes over as CEO he will move into Dirksen’s office, but Dirksen will be on hand.
“Vic has enough vacation time to get him through the end of the year,” Buhler said.
“During that time he has graciously agreed to be available if Mike needs any help or advice.”
With the purpose of setting future hospital strategy, the hospital board has scheduled a retreat from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 21 at the hospital, 834 Sheridan Ave., Port Townsend.
Glenn left OMC, where he had worked from 1999 to 2006 — the last seven years as CEO — to become associate administrator at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, which is a 390-bed regional teaching hospital.
Glenn’s wife, Kristin, is an attorney for the state Attorney General’s Office in Port Angeles.
The couple have a 6-year-old daughter.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
