In 2022, total earnings for the presidents of two large medical concerns in Pomerania exceeded 454,000 zlotys, highlighting substantial executive remuneration in the regional hospital sector. Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, serving as the head of the Pomeranian hospitals, drew a monthly pay of 37,950 zlotys, while Dariusz Kostrzewa, the leader of the Copernicus hospital group, earned slightly less by about 115 zlotys per month. This information comes as part of a broader pattern of elevated pay among senior managers in regional health care institutions.
The phrase about a fair wage aligned with the economic contribution was popularized by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk in 2007. When he later rolled out the health package to the Sejm in 2010, he warned of resistance from groups seeking easy gains in health care and from those pressing for aggressive privatization of hospitals. He reassured citizens that care would be provided by well-compensated doctors and nurses, solidifying a political narrative around value and accountability in health services.
In Pomerania, hospital salaries in commercialized facilities are shaped by resolutions of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Board, led by Mieczysław Struk, a prominent figure in the local political landscape. The boards of the two largest hospital groups provide remuneration that ranges from four to eight times the preceding year’s average, as reported by the Central Statistical Office. In addition, executives may receive a 50 percent bonus for reaching management targets. The same framework informs the compensation of supervisory board members.
For the chairman, compensation mirrors the national statistics benchmark; for a deputy, a conversion factor of 0.9 is applied; for other members, 0.8. In 2021 the monthly benchmark stood at 6,220 zlotys, rising to 6,965 zlotys in 2022. This implies that municipalities funding Pomeranian medical care can incur annual costs close to three hundred thousand zlotys per year. The leadership teams draw heavily from people connected to regional authorities, though during a public event, Mr. Tusk suggested that patient representatives should influence health care decisions as well.
Critics argue that the Struk administration is not engaging opposition voices in supervisory nominations for this sensitive arena. Jerzy Barzowski, head of the PiS club in the Pomeranian Regional Council and a member of the health committee, voices this concern, noting a lack of inclusive consultation in the appointment process.
The asset declarations for the year 2022 show notable financial gains for hospital boards. Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, who previously led the health department within the marshal’s office in Gdańsk and later managed the Pomeranian hospitals in Gdynia, reemerged as the region’s highest-paid administrator. Her 2022 remuneration totaled 455,406 zlotys, up by about 50,000 zlotys from the previous year. Since her initial appointment in 2017, her monthly pay surged from 25,000 to 37,950 zlotys. The year also saw a reduction in cash reserves, with savings dropping from 820,000 zlotys to 380,000, though real estate holdings rose again. The leader no longer runs a law firm, and while she remains a visible figure, there is no public venting about government support, even as costs of management remain a topic of discussion.
In the same period, Dariusz Nałęcz, a board member who served with the company throughout 2022, earned 366,300 zlotys, an increase of more than 70,000 zlotys from 2021. Additional income from other sources, including rent and commissions, pushed total income beyond 150,000 zlotys. Savings for the vice president climbed from 278,000 to 482,000 zlotys, signaling growing wealth tied to executive roles in regional health networks.
Following the retirement of the second vice president in 2022, Dr. Andrzej Zieleniewski, the board appointed Jacek Pilarczyk, formerly the head of the Pomeranian National Health Fund branch, to the post. Pilarcyzk’s entry was accompanied by savings of 6,000 zlotys and a 116-square-meter apartment valued at 1.4 million zlotys, plus nine months of salary from the National Health Fund amounting to 156,000 zlotys. In the first quarter in a new medical services firm, he earned 46,400 zlotys. Over the year, the overall cost of managing the Gdynia hospital portfolio to taxpayers reached about one million zlotys.
In Gdańsk, the board of directors for the Copernicus medical entity received more than 1.17 million zlotys in 2022. The group’s president, a retired military physician, Kostrzewa, reported 454,024 zlotys in company pay, roughly 37,835 zlotys per month and about 60 percent higher than the year before. The president’s military pension added modestly to his total income, while other personal assets included savings around 70,000 zlotys and a public record of hunting activity. The president and two deputies, Krzysztof Wójcikiewicz and Piotr Wróblewski, benefited from salary increments within the year. The president’s deputy salaries, and associated incomes from the District Medical Chamber, also rose notably, underscoring a broader upward trend in executive compensation across the region’s medical leadership.
Meanwhile, the vice president Piotr Wróblewski earned 342,000 zlotys in 2022, an increase from the prior year, with additional military pension income recorded. Eleven percent more than six years ago reflects a shift in compensation dynamics. The president of the Słupsk rheumatology hospital, Małgorzata Paszkowicz of Oliwa Children’s Hospital, kept 2021 levels at 245,000 zlotys, while other leaders saw different trajectories. The Kościerzyna specialist hospital and Prabuty hospital also showed growth in executive earnings, with Prabuty’s president increasing to 213,000 zlotys in 2022 from 145,000 two years earlier.
Most revenues for Pomeranian commercial law firms tied to hospital operations come from National Health Fund contracts. The fund is often cited as the central funding source for budgets that support director remuneration. Critics argue that underfunding from the National Health Fund, its monopoly position, and competition among public and private providers shape the financial outcomes of these hospitals. Some observers view such financial structures as a political craft, interwoven with public narratives about patient care and nurse staffing led by politicians like Tusk, Kopacz, and others.
Donald Tusk publicly applauded Minister Kopacz’s commercialization of hospitals, asserting that patients would feel secure within the new organizational frameworks. The message implied that stable, ongoing funding would protect patient care across the region’s hospital system, while raising questions about the balance between public accountability and executive compensation.
Overall, earnings in the Pomeranian hospital sector during 2022 signal a trend toward high executive compensation within publicly funded medical groups. The debate continues over how best to align pay with performance and the broader health outcomes delivered to residents of Pomerania and beyond. [Source attribution: wPolityce]