"You won't find someone getting pushed out of anything that speaks as passionately as I do about Temple," he said.
Temple president Ann Weaver Hart praised Notebaert in a written statement: "Ed has many accomplishments during his tenure and raised the expectations of Temple's health enterprise. I appreciate his commitment to Temple Health, our employees and patients."
Top Temple trustees echoed her sentiments. The union had a different view, believing Notebaert was being forced out, partly as a result of the way he handled the dispute.
"I think he made promises [to the trustees] about how much it would cost, how long it would last, and how much he would get in the contract that he couldn't keep," said Jerry Silberman, an official with PASNAP, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Health Professionals.
Union members left the hospital March 31, picketing until a settlement April 27.
"Hooray," said Maureen May, a Temple nurse who is president of the bargaining unit.
"A lot of people are going to be very happy with that," she said. "I guess he'll finish up his work and go on to be the hatchet man at the next place."
In an interview Friday, Notebaert, who was hired in September 2008, said he would stay to smooth the transition.
"We're shooting for Dec. 31, but there's a lot of flexibility in that," he said.
Notebaert, who came to Temple after a stint at the University of Maryland Medical System, had previously led the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
At Temple, he earned $917,000 between his November 2008 arrival and the June 30, 2009, end of the fiscal year, according to the latest pay figures available.
