By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Kaleida Health's Board of Directors meets Monday evening, but will not be making a decision on the future of Children's Hospital. Instead, pediatricians will present their recommendations to the board to keep the hospital as a free-standing facility on Bryant Street.
Dr. Philip Glick, Surgeon-in-Chief at Children's, says with the help from their own consultant, physicians and the Women and Children First Coalition have financial and demographic data. He says it not only supports a free standing Children's Hospital, but that it could actually make money. Dr. Glick declined to provide details, but explained two possible options of how Children's could be operated.
"(One optiion calls for) having it as a totally free-standing Children's Hospital, no longer associated with Kaleida Health," he explained. "Or as, what has been discussed, (the second option) would create some sort of a subsidiary corporation of Kaleida Health that has financial and credential fire walls, allowing Children's Hospital to stand freely and operate freely. It would either be successful on its own or fail on its own."
Dr. Glick says immediately following Monday night's presentation. their report will be released to the public.
The controversial Hunter Group report that recommends moving Children's services from Bryant street is also expected to be released tonight. Kaleida's CEO William McGuire says 95% of the report should be ready.
"The Hunter report would be made available publicly following that meeting," McGuire said. "We are going to try to post that on our Web site."
Kaleida's board is also expected to receive from its Hunter consultant a new recommendation on what it would take to keep Children's on Bryant Street.
Meanwhile, efforts get underway tonight to raise money for the purchase of capital equipment for the neonatal unit at Children's. The Children's Hospital Foundation will host its fourth annual "Celebrity Server Night" at the Park Lane. The foundation says over the last three year's the event has successfully raised $35,000 to $40,000.