Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Leadership Supports Heart Center, Relocation of Clinical Services to Downtown Campus
Growth of clinical services on BNMC moves community toward shared vision of providing world-class medical care

June 9, 2008 (BUFFALO, NY) – Leaders of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) today announced their support of the New York State Department of Health’s endorsement to build a global cardiovascular center on the BNMC. The BNMC leadership also supports the mandate of the Commission on Healthcare Facilities in the 21st Century (also known as the Berger Commission) to consolidate health care services in Western New York. Among the Berger Commission mandates include relocating services from Millard Fillmore Gates Circle hospital to the Buffalo General Hospital on the north end of the BNMC. Both facilities are run by health care provider Kaleida Health, a founding member of the BNMC in 2001 along with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the University at Buffalo, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, and Buffalo Medical Group. Other members include Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center, Olmsted Center for the Visually Impaired, and the Upstate New York Transplant Service.

“Over the years, we have seen the success of collaboration in our ability to attract world-class scientists and physicians to the region. Working together we have secured public and private funding for shared scientific recruitment, facilities, and infrastructure. Collaboration has encouraged entrepreneurship and commercialization. The expansion of our individual and collective clinical capabilities on the medical campus is vital to achieve our shared vision of becoming a world-class medical campus in downtown Buffalo. This will provide the citizens of Western New York and beyond an environment that enables them to receive the very best health care. The development of a global vascular center is an important component of this vision,” said Donald L. Trump, M.D., President and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). RPCI is the only upstate New York facility to hold the National Cancer Institute designation of "comprehensive cancer center" and hold membership in the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

“Communities across the country are faced with the challenge of providing high quality, accessible, and affordable health care, which is only compounded by the nationwide shortage of health care professionals,” said David L. Dunn, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President for Health Sciences at UB. “The Academic Health Center at UB continues to play a significant role working with each of its health system partners to create a robust research and training environment by transforming the landscape of health care here in Western New York, creating reconfigured 21st century facilities in which the next generation of physicians and health care professionals would be trained. Increasing the clinical capacity here on the BNMC aids us in our mission to not only educate the next generation of practitioners here but also to provide a collaborative professional environment that encourages them to stay in Buffalo and care for the members of this community.”

“Up to now much of our focus has been on the research and entrepreneurial aspects of the BNMC. Millions of research dollars have been invested here thanks to the strong collaboration among the region’s leading research, medical education, and clinical institutions. Companies have spun off and thrived in this environment,” said Matthew K. Enstice, Executive Director of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. “Further enhancing the clinical capabilities of the BNMC institutions helps us to achieve our vision of creating a healthier community and attracting increased investment in the medical campus as well as in the surrounding neighborhoods."

“The expansion of clinical services to enhance the already significant research capabilities we have here on the BNMC would allow us to create an environment of research, academic, and clinical excellence in downtown Buffalo,” said George DeTitta, Ph.D., former CEO of Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and a founding member of the BNMC’s Board of Directors.

The BNMC, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2001 by key health care and research institutions, the City of Buffalo, and neighborhood stakeholders, serves as the single entity charged with collaboratively planning, coordinating, and implementing projects and programs for the institutions that comprise the medical campus. The BNMC is dedicated to the cultivation of a world-class medical campus for clinical care, research, education, and entrepreneurship on 120 acres in downtown Buffalo. It is home to the region’s top clinical, research, and medical education institutions, including: the University at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Olmsted Center for the Visually Impaired, Kaleida Health, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Buffalo Medical Group, Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, and Upstate New York Transplant Services.

More than 8,500 people come to work at the medical campus every day. Together, the BNMC institutions host over one million patient visits annually and account for approximately $1.5 billion in economic impact each year. The medical campus consists of more than 4.5 million square feet of research, clinical, and support space.

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