Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Temple Health System chief Notebaert is stepping down

The president and chief executive of Temple University Health System will step down, he said Friday. Edmond F. Notebaert's announcement comes barely two months after Temple settled a long, acrimonious, and expensive labor dispute with 1,500 of its nurses and allied health professionals.

The president and chief executive of Temple University Health System will step down, he said Friday.

Edmond F. Notebaert's announcement comes barely two months after Temple settled a long, acrimonious, and expensive labor dispute with 1,500 of its nurses and allied health professionals.

While Notebaert, 66, who will also leave his post as senior executive vice president of health sciences at Temple University, counts the dispute as the most disappointing aspect of his tenure, he said that no one was forcing him from the job.

"I love Temple," he said.

"I love its access to excellence. I love Temple's mission of caring for the people of North Philadelphia. Being an economic anchor in North Philadelphia, its role is important," he said. "It's an important organization.

"You won't find someone getting pushed out of anything that speaks as passionately as I do about Temple," he said.

Temple president Ann Weaver Hart praised Notebaert in a written statement: "Ed has many accomplishments during his tenure and raised the expectations of Temple's health enterprise. I appreciate his commitment to Temple Health, our employees and patients."

Top Temple trustees echoed her sentiments. The union had a different view, believing Notebaert was being forced out, partly as a result of the way he handled the dispute.

"I think he made promises [to the trustees] about how much it would cost, how long it would last, and how much he would get in the contract that he couldn't keep," said Jerry Silberman, an official with PASNAP, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Health Professionals.

Union members left the hospital March 31, picketing until a settlement April 27.

"Hooray," said Maureen May, a Temple nurse who is president of the bargaining unit.

"A lot of people are going to be very happy with that," she said. "I guess he'll finish up his work and go on to be the hatchet man at the next place."

In an interview Friday, Notebaert, who was hired in September 2008, said he would stay to smooth the transition.

"We're shooting for Dec. 31, but there's a lot of flexibility in that," he said.

Notebaert, who came to Temple after a stint at the University of Maryland Medical System, had previously led the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

At Temple, he earned $917,000 between his November 2008 arrival and the June 30, 2009, end of the fiscal year, according to the latest pay figures available.

Other financial reports show that Notebaert had a rough year at Temple's helm. For the fiscal year's first nine months, which ended March 31, Temple reported a $36.9 million loss. Revenue fell to $691.6 million from $730.6 million the previous year.

The money-losing Northeastern Hospital closed, over the strong protests of residents and legislators.

"That does not represent a failure in any way, shape, or form," Notebaert said.

Converting a hospital with low volume and high costs into an ambulatory facility "which meets the needs of the community without the expense - that's a success."

Notebaert said he was always a short-timer, brought in to stabilize the system's finances. "We've done a lot of things to deal with expenses. We worked hand-in-hand with the state to improve reimbursement rates and have been very successful."

Employment declined by 8 percent, or 500, in a year.

"We have right-sized the organization," he said. "We've achieved an extraordinary focus on enhancing the patient experience and quality."

Notebaert knows that some find him to be an aggressive leader, perhaps overly so. "I like to think of myself as a change agent, as a fix-it person," he said.

What he wasn't able to fix was an acrimonious relationship with PASNAP.

"I really care about the nurses, and the one thing I'm very dissatisfied with is that their union took them out," he said. He described it as "a political-activist organization that operates at the expense of its members, unlike real unions representing the true best interests of their members."

During the dispute, Notebaert stayed behind the scenes, putting hospital chief executive Sandy Gomberg out in front. In the end, though, he resolved key points with U.S. Rep. Bob Brady in a parking lot at the Four Seasons hotel.

Notebaert said he would not be getting any severance when he leaves Temple. He encountered a firestorm when he left Maryland's top job with a $7.8 million package, including $2.4 million in severance.

"This is an outrageous case of excessive executive compensation in a public institution," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley wrote in an e-mailed statement to the Baltimore Sun in May when details of the package were released.

Notebaert's performance at Maryland was mixed. He supervised extensive building projects and expanded the system through acquisitions. But his relationship with the doctors degenerated, and after he left, a third of the board, including the chairman, resigned.

So what's next for Notebaert?

"I have no personal business plans that I'm prepared to disclose," he said.

Notebaert may be looking for another way to fill his time when he steps down at Temple. "I'm an available bachelor."