What might Buffalo’s healthcare landscape look like in the future? If the Western New York Regional Advisory Committee (WRAC) to the Health Care Commissions’ recommendations are followed, the city will certainly have increasingly consolidated medical facilities centered mainly around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC). What it all boils down to is that the aging/dwindling population in WNY, along with deteriorating facilities and duplications of services, has presented no other options. Consolidation is a drastic measure, but in order to offer state of the art medical services at affordable rates the commission is proposing the decertification of up to 1800 beds, both acute and long term. The following is of interest when viewing the commission’s Impact of Plan Implementation:
Many, albeit not all, tertiary care services would be consolidated at a limited number of sites including a new state-of-the-art 21st century tertiary care facility leading to enhanced quality and decreased health care costs, that would provide a significant revenue engine for Western New York while concurrently allowing the region to train, retain, and recruit the next generation of health care providers;
WRAC has also stated that this is not the time for another “band-aid” to be applied. In essence the commission is calling for an overhaul and consolidation of services and facilities. What facilities have been pinpointed specifically? Following is the commission,Aeos recommendation on Buffalo hospitals:
The WRAC recommends that:
,Aec Decertify all acute care beds at Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital be decertified and close the facility;
,Aec Decertify all acute care beds at DeGraff Hospital – be decertified and convert the use of the facility to alternative community based services that are unique and not duplicated at other nearby sites;
,Aec Decertify acute care beds at St. Joseph,Aeos Hospital, converting to alternative community based services;
,Aec Close all inpatient beds at Sheehan Memorial Hospital Provide outpatient behavioral health and primary care services via new and/or renovated facilities to this underserved portion of the urban community.
WRAC has gone so far as to point out how a new facility would interact with existing medical related services – as part of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The campus would, in essence, serve as a medical destination within the city of Buffalo. It would take advantage of surrounding medical assets and, through consolidation, would also be a radical improvement over outdated and underutilized facilities.
The governance of this facility should be separate from that of the other health systems, and it should be closely aligned with the five SUNY/UB Health Science schools. Linked to several significant drivers of the economy in Western New York (education, biotechnology, and health care), this facility should become a significant economic engine for the region.
Medical and surgical tertiary care services will be consolidated using a formal service line structure, A new model for provision of tertiary care services will be developed through collaborative discussions with all area providers and the community. The facility would entail limited inpatient facilities (100-150 beds) in conjunction with privately financed UBMD outpatient facilities and the Jacobs Institute (outpatient vascular and neurological care). Concurrently, a detailed survey, population-based needs assessment, and creation of quality indicators and measurements should be undertaken for tertiary care services. The Certificate of Need (CON) process used to initiate tertiary care services should be revamped. A new care model employing state of the art imaging and minimal interventions in which the delivery of such services is provided largely in the ambulatory care setting is envisioned, limiting the need for costly lengthy hospital stays.
Concurrent with this process, consolidation of inpatient behavioral health and medical rehabilitation services should occur at Erie County Medical Center, while the Buffalo General Hospital and the Catholic Health System should continue to provide all other adult medical and surgical inpatient services not performed at University Hospital or ECMC. Consideration should be given to a full asset merger between these remaining entities. (See above list)