June 4, 2012
Henry Dunant Hospital, a gleaming, state-of-the-art facility in central Athens, is one of the best medical centers in Greece. But quality hasn't protected it from one of the most troubling trends of the country's economic crisis: a plague of late payments that threatens to drive Greeks deeper into an economic abyss.
The hospital's 1,150 employees, doctors included, have yet to be paid any of their 2012 salaries. Employees just received the final payment of their 2011 salaries at the end of May. The hospital, which is owned by the Greek Red Cross, owes tens of millions of euros to its suppliers and banks. It, in turn, is owed at least €20 million ($24.8 million) by the Greek government.
Henry Dunant is one of a sharply growing number of Greek institutions and companies that aren't paying because they haven't been paid. Many employees aren't receiving their salaries—certainly not on time and sometimes not at all. Businesses aren't paying each other. And the government isn't paying its suppliers or refunds owed to taxpayers.
"The only reason this hospital is open now is because the unpaid employees are keeping it open," said Anthony Rapp, a former manager of U.S. Air Force hospitals who is part of a new executive team brought in to save it. "What is happening in this hospital is a microcosm of what is happening in Greece."
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