At Kindred Healthcare Inc., retirement gifts have gone way beyond the farewell cake, the cheap wristwatch and the sendoff reception at the local sports bar.Last December the Louisville-based hospital and nursing home chain announced that its chairman, Edward Kuntz, would be quitting the board of directors after its annual shareholders meeting in May. Kuntz is 68 and has been chairman since 1999. Until 2004, he was also the company’s chief executive. “He has served as a mentor to me and others in our organization, and I will miss his guidance and advice,” Kindred CEO Paul Diaz said in a Dec. 13 press release.Actually, he won’t. One day before his retirement was announced, Kuntz agreed to a two-year consulting dealthat will pay him $120,000 a year. The contract, buried deep in the Kindred annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 28, permits Diaz or the board -- whoever needs him -- to tap Kuntz up to 12 days per year. For every day of work beyond that, Kindred will pay him $10,000. Per day. Read more about Kuntz's consulting deal with Kindred in this story from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.Writer James McNair from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting discussed this story with WFPL on Monday. Listen below:
