On Feb. 14, I was shown a copy of the Sun Journal article about CEO salaries at Maine’s hospitals. I reviewed the article and saw the charts of salaries for physicians at Maine’s hospitals.

Several things about the article struck me as inappropriate. First, was the implication that it is inappropriate for Central Maine Healthcare to expect the state of Maine to pay back millions of dollars owed the system for care that has already been rendered. The amount of money owed CMH is much more than the amount paid to Peter Chalke. Using the writer’s logic, perhaps I should buy a new automobile and then decide not to pay for it solely because I think the top executive of that auto company makes too much money.

Second, was the implication that there is no way Chalke could earn his compensation. To someone who has little knowledge of what is involved in running an organization such as CMH it may seem quite unreasonable. Central Maine Healthcare is responsible for three hospitals, multiple nursing homes and Central Maine Medical Group.

Perhaps we should just let CMH do what it does best, which is providing high quality health care to the communities which it serves, and do so with compassion that our organization values, and move on, despite the ranting of those who have some agenda to tear us down.

John Kroger, M.D., Swift River Family Medicine, Rumford

Medical director of the Rumford Physicians Group