Butner head gets golden parachute

Patsy Christian has gone from a gilded frame to a golden parachute.

Christian resigned her position last week as director of a new state mental hospital in Butner following N&O reports about a portrait of herself she commissioned with money intended to benefit patients, Michael Biesecker reports.

But the embattled administrator will remain on the state payroll at more than 95 percent of her former salary.

In a new position created just for her, Christian will work for the state hospital system "to improve overall quality management in the area of nurse training across the system and compliance with regulatory requirements," according to spokesman Mark Van Sciver of the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The department has not yet responded to a request for Christian's written job description.

Her new annual salary will be $114,056, down from the $119,759 she earned as hospital director.

An SBI investigation of the $572 payment Christian approved for the portrait, which was painted by a state nurse who is a subordinate, is ongoing.