SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

NEW ECMC HEAD MUST BE ABLE TO WORK WITH ALL PARTIES

Last month, I wrote about how glad I was to be on the search committee for the new CEO of our public hospital, the Erie County Medical Center.

As of this time, a nationwide search is still being conducted and on November 3, I will be attending a meeting to discuss the process of interviewing and seeking the best possible candidate to run ECMC, which has now joined forces with Kaleida Health as ordered by a state commission.

Our former CEO, Mike Young, left for a job in Atlanta, Georgia, to take over their New Grady Memorial Hospital, which is somewhat of a similar situation as ECMC was when he first arrived here. While in Buffalo, Young was able to turn ECMC around from a 30 million-dollar debt to an 18 million-dollar profit. After the County of Erie, with Legislature approval, created the public benefit corporation, we needed an able administrator like Mike Young to help plot and carry out its mission to become an entity that has more autonomy and managerial flexibility.

He was a no-nonsense, agent of change type of administrator. Although his style may have been effective for things that needed to be done at ECMC, it was at times edgy during the merger process. To me, when the opportunity arose for him to ply his administrative skills at another troubled hospital, he took advantage of the opportunity, which I think will ultimately help in the process of this merger, which will employ more than 13,000 people, take in over a billion dollars a year and account for approximately 40 percent of all the hospital care in this region. That is not a small task or undertaking for any administrator.

And that is why I believe this search for the ideal administrator is of the utmost importance, and that this will be a challenge because this merger involves not only Kaleida Health, but also the University of Buffalo, which uses ECMC for doctor training and research. And, of course, as a County Legislator I am very concerned about how we as taxpayers can be left holding the bag if the merger is not done correctly and the institution begins to lose money and we, the county, will have to foot the bill.

So, while on this committee, I'll be seeking out an individual who is a great number cruncher, has a pleasing personality, but also has skin of Teflon and is able to wear a hospital cap, a cap and gown, a hard hat, and a taxpayers' hat while still possessing a vision for our future and a concern for the health and well being of all of us.

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