JPS Health Network agreed to pay fired CFO $900K and sought to keep severance secret
Tarrant County’s public hospital agreed to pay its former chief financial officer $900,000 in severance after it fired her in October, according to records obtained by the Star-Telegram.
Sharon Clark, previously the senior executive vice president chief financial officer at JPS Health Network, was fired from her position effective Oct. 9, the records released to the Star-Telegram show.
In December, Clark signed an agreement in which the health network agreed to pay her the equivalent of her regular salary for 18 months, or $911,882. Clark agreed to “not file any petition or lawsuit” against JPS or any other parties specified under the agreement. The severance pay will be paid to Clark in biweekly installments until April 9, 2025, and will be reduced should Clark start a new job before then. Clark will also receive a $645,000 payout through the JPS annual and long-term incentive plans.
In January, the Star-Telegram requested documents related to Clark’s departure from JPS. The health network initially did not release any records, and instead asked for a ruling from the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which public entities can do if they believe the requested records are exempt from the Texas Public Information Act.
JPS argued documents related to Clark’s departure contained “sensitive information” and were exempt from the open records law. In a March 28 letter, an assistant attorney general wrote that JPS “may not withhold any portion” of the requested records. JPS released the records to the Star-Telegram on Monday.
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Daphne Walker, JPS’ chief legal officer, said in a phone interview Monday that she could not comment on the reason Clark’s employment was terminated. Walker said the separation agreement was a “typical salary continuation.”
Walker said JPS had not yet hired a new chief financial officer and that a search was ongoing.
Clark could not be reached for comment. The agreement Clark signed stipulates that she would not “speak publicly to the media or anyone else” about the terms of the agreement.
JPS Health Network is the public hospital for Tarrant County and is partially funded by local property taxes.
The hospital operates one of the busiest emergency rooms in the U.S., and cares for a large share of the county’s residents without health insurance. The hospital district is considered a component unit of Tarrant County government, meaning that Tarrant County commissioners have the final say on its tax rate and that they can provide advice to JPS.
County commissioners also appoint members of the hospital board, who oversee the health network’s operations. JPS and county leaders approved a $1.54 billion operating budget for the health network for 2024.
