
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 12, 1991                   TAG: 9102120578
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

SOME STATE EMPLOYEES GET PAY RAISES

Some state employees at two teaching hospitals in Virginia appear to have escaped salary cuts by Gov. Douglas Wilder thanks to a little-noticed provision in the state budget.

The provision has allowed Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville to craft a salary and benefits package for selected hospital staff since 1989. The packages are competitive with those offered their counterparts in the private sector.

While most state workers were losing 2 percent pay raises, some nurses, resident physicians and health professionals were getting raises of nearly 7 percent.

At VCU's Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, nurses last month were awarded a 6.75 percent salary increase. Other health professionals - such as physical therapists and pharmacists - received 2.25 percent, said Stephen Moore, assistant vice president for human resources.

The UVa medical center boosted most salaries 2 percent in January, although some may have received increases of as much as 4 percent, said executive director Michael Halseth. In July, when other state workers got a 3 percent raise, UVa nurses received 6 percent.

The Wilder administration was silent about the hospital salary programs. Press secretary Laura Dillard declined to comment. Karen Washabau, the governor's budget director, did not return telephone calls.

by CNB