Combining Two Outstanding Medical Institutions Will Improve Quality Care
(DEPEW, NY) Senator Dale M. Volker (R-C-I, Depew) today congratulated both the Erie County Medical Center and Kaleida Health on their agreement to merge their institutions, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity will remake Buffalo’s health care delivery system and significantly benefit our region.
"At the end of the day, this merger is about improving our regions already world-class health care delivery system and ensuring that they remain financially viable and profitable," said Senator Dale M. Volker. "This will allow for the continued reinvestment of health care dollars to allow for cutting edge research and new therapies that will benefit western New York for generations."
The deal settles a lawsuit brought by ECMC against the state, preserving $65 million in state aid to close Kaleida’s Millard Fillmore Hospital on Gates Circle and merge its operations into Buffalo General Hospital. The agreement also includes the construction of a center for heart and vascular care on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and the formation of a hospital network aligned with the University at Buffalo that is in a better position to enhance medical programs, start new ones, replace aging facilities, recruit physicians and improve the training of new doctors.
Under key elements of the arrangement:
· The hospitals will remain separate, but a state-appointed board — with representatives from ECMC, UB, Kaleida Health and the community — will have authority over major decisions.
· A physicians’ committee, half from ECMC and half from Kaleida Health, will have significant say over decisions involving medical programs. ECMC’s cash reserves will be used for capital expenses at the medical center’s Grider Street campus or to renegotiate contracts with its workers, especially to reduce the cost of retiree health insurance coverage.
-20-
|