They Don't Call It CrackBerry for Nothing

Does Lifepoint chief executive William F. Carpenter — like Madonna — sleep with his BlackBerry under his pillow?

The question arose after Michelle Leder over on Footnoted.org pointed out that the company's proxy says Carpenter received "other compensation" of $67,281 last year — a sum the company explained covered personal use of his BlackBerry and a one-time payment for a "paid-time-off program."

Diane Huggins, a spokeswoman for the Tennesee-based hospital company, says the "vast majority" of that sum is for the paid-time off that Carpenter accrued since 1999. The BlackBerry bill was just thrown into that budget line.

by Andrea Chalupa