By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – The board overseeing the state-mandated merger of Kaleida Health and the Erie County Medical Center Thursday announced its support of merger-related plans for a new cardiac and vascular care center downtown.
The new facility could cost from $100 to $150 million, with a still-uncertain level of state aid. ECMC officials say they have $100 million in hand to build a heart hospital on vacant land near their Grider Street location.
Meanwhile, a report from the State Health Department says Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo had the lowest mortality rate among all of the area's hospitals for angioplasties.
Mercy's cardiac program is relatively new. It's about five years old. So, hospital officials are obviously pleased by the top ranking.
Angioplasty is less invasive than bypass surgery and is used to open a partially blocked blood vessel. The procedure is often used to treat heart attack victims.
Dr. Aravind Herle, chairman of the Cardiology Department at Mercy Hospital, says the decision to go with angioplasty or bypass surgery depends on the severity of the heart disease.
Between 2003 and 2005, Mercy Hospital performed 722 emergency angioplasties. There were just four deaths. Buffalo General Hospital performed twice as many over that time, resulting in 15 deaths. There were 384 procedures done at ECMC where nine deaths were reported.
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