By Bruce Japsen
| Baxter International Inc. chief executive officer Bob Parkinson was paid
salary, stock awards and a bonus of more than $8.6 million in 2009, the
company’s annual proxy statement filed this afternoon said.

His pay was largely flat, rising less than $3,000 to $1.34 million in
2009. He was also paid a $2.5 million bonus, which was about 8 percent
less than his 2008 bonus of $2.7 million. His stock awards were also
down to $4.785 million last year compared to more than $6 million in
2008.

Though the bonus was more than $2.5 million and reflected the “company’s strong financial performance” last year, it was lower than the prior year in part because “the company continues to address certain quality issues,” the company said in the proxy statement.

Baxter has been dogged by quality issues with its Colleague infusion pumps and has yet to begin selling its blood thinner heparin again on the U.S. market due to manufacturing issues uncovered two years ago at a plant in China.

The total value of Parkinson’s compensation, including stock options and pension, dropped slightly to $14.3 million from $14.8 million in 2008.