|
|
| Kaleida Health, UB Construction Project Moves Forward |
FOR RELEASE: 7/14/2010 |
Topping Off Cermony is Held; Last Section of Steel Put in Place
Kaleida Health and the University at Buffalo’s $291 million construction project continues to move forward.
Today, the two organizations ceremonially marked the last sequence of steel being raised and put into place. Kaleida Health President and CEO James R. Kaskie and UB President John B. Simpson signed their names to the last section of steel at a “topping off” ceremony.
Kaskie and Simpson’s names join hundreds of other Kaleida Health and UB employees who have marked their place in history by signing the steel.
“This is a transformational project, not just for health care but for all of Western New York,” said Kaskie. “Together with our partners at UB, we are taking reform and turning it into meaningful action. This project is about consolidation, improving efficiencies and designing new ways to deliver care. We are investing precious resources to transform ourselves in direct response to the new economy and the new health care reality.”
The $291-million combined facility will bring together Kaleida Health physicians and UB 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.
“Our plan for a robust downtown health campus is a centerpiece of our UB 2020 vision for building a great public research university that is the catalyst for a knowledge-based economy in our region,” said Simpson. “Collaborating with our strong regional medical partners like Kaleida Health is key to our success in realizing this vision. The new building we will share represents significant progress toward fulfilling our great promise to revitalize our economy, improve the quality of life for individuals throughout Western New York and beyond, and shape the future of 21st century medical research and clinical care.”
The building will house four 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 four floors of UB’s research and development facilities, including its $118 million Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) and a UB Biosciences Incubator.
Approximately $38 million has been spent on construction as of January 2010, putting the project at nearly 22% complete. Construction, which began September 1, 2009, is expected to take approximately two years to complete, with doors opening in late 2011.
Turner Construction is serving as the construction manager for the project.
About the GHVI project:
With the growth and demand created by the Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital’s neurovascular and cardiac programs combined with the growth of the Buffalo General Hospital cardiac programs, Kaleida Health has decided to shift these premier services (brain, heart, stroke, and vascular) to the soon to be completed heart & vascular institute on the emerging Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. 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.
About the CTRC and Biosciences Incubator:
The Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) will expand UB’s focus on translating basic medical research into new treatments and technologies made available for patients. The Biosciences Incubator will provide laboratories, office space and start-up services to companies spun off from UB medical discoveries. At full occupancy, 275 new UB employees will work in the building. According to studies on the economic effect of biomedicine and biotechnology research, UB’s CTRC and Biosciences Incubator are projected to produce an annual economic impact of $68,750,000. The new facilities are a key part UB’s plans expand its Downtown Campus and move the five health sciences schools of its Academic Health Center to downtown Buffalo.
|
© 2010 Visiting Nursing Association of Western New York, Inc. All rights reserved.