August 2010
Buffalo, NY – Today, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28) and Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) presented Kaleida Health with a $297,000 federal grant to support its heart and vascular institute that is currently under construction next to Buffalo General Hospital. This comes in addition to $329,670 in federal funding representatives Slaughter and Higgins secured for the project last year.
The grants will be used to fund equipment and technology for the flagship medical facility on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Construction on the building began in October of 2009 and is set for completion in the fall of 2011.
“This project is yet another example of exactly what the medical campus stands for: an improvement in Buffalo’s quality of care, and collaboration between the best institutions in the area,” said Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. “This collaboration will continue to support research that develops the solutions we need in hospitals and drug stores to solve our nation’s health care challenges. It will sustain and create jobs here in Buffalo. And it will continue to build the reputation of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus as the world-class institution we know it to be.”
“With this project Western New York continues to set itself apart as an innovator in cutting edge research and leader in quality health care,” said Congressman Higgins. “Today the Global Vascular Institute is supporting dozens of construction jobs and once opened this building will support hundreds of quality jobs for years to come. This project builds on a growing Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus that is boosting our local economy and improving patient care in America.”
Kaleida Health’s heart and vascular institute is the lynchpin to the $291-million facility that will bring together Kaleida Health physicians and University at Buffalo researchers in a collaborative effort to deliver state-of-the-art clinical care, produce major breakthroughs on the causes and treatment of vascular disease and spin-off new biotechnology businesses and jobs.
“Congressmembers Higgins and Slaughter are great advocates for Kaleida Health and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. They are also committed to health care reform, as is Kaleida Health. Together with their help, we are turning reform into meaningful action. These federal dollars will help fund much needed equipment and technology in our new heart and vascular institute. With this construction project, we are building a world-class flagship medical and research center right here in Western New York. It is a pivotal moment for Kaleida Health, our community and most importantly, the patients we serve. On behalf of all of the Kaleida Health physicians and employees, I thank the Congressmembers for their leadership and assistance.”
The building will house five floors of Kaleida Health’s $173 million merger of its cardiac, stroke and vascular operations, plus a new and expanded emergency department. It will also house five floors of UB’s research and development facilities, including its $118 million Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) and a UB Biosciences Incubator.
With the continued growth and demand of Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital’s neurovascular and cardiac programs in an aging building, Kaleida Health has decided to shift the hospital’s premier services (stroke care, cardiac surgery, etc.) to the soon-to-be-built facility next to Buffalo General Hospital.
When complete, the Kaleida Health-UB facility (including Buffalo General’s main bed tower) will house nearly 600 patient beds, 30 operating rooms, 17 interventional labs for cardiac, vascular and neurosurgical procedures, as well as four CT scanners and four MRIs.
It is anticipated that the new emergency department will accommodate more than 60,000 visits, while the hospital will discharge nearly 27,000 patients.
Kaleida Health is the largest health care provider and largest private employer in Western New York. More than one million patient visits are recorded annually at the Buffalo General Hospital, DeGraff Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, plus the health system’s 96 clinics and community health care centers. It also includes the Deaconess Center and Waterfront long-term care facilities, plus the nation’s oldest – and original – Visiting Nursing Association. Kaleida Health’s economic impact on Western New York exceeds $2.2 billion annually.