Erie County Medical Center Announces Support for Buffalo Center for African American Health Equity
Medical Center to invest seed funds for new entity created to help improve social determinants of health for East Side Residents
BUFFALO, NEW YORK – Erie County Medical Center Corporation (ECMCC) today announced it will provide major support for the Buffalo Center for African American Health Equity by allocating $372,000 in funds to support the initial launch of the new entity focusing on health issues affecting residents of Buffalo’s East Side. These dollars also assist in reaching the goals associated with the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program.
ECMCC President and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., Ph.D., said, “ECMC is proud to partner with the Buffalo Center for African American Health Equity to focus on making real improvements in the lives and health of our neighbors on the East Side of Buffalo. This collaboration will work to make a real impact on the social determinates of health which impact our community, and we are grateful to Reverends Nicholas and Pointer for their vision to make this a reality.”
Pastor George Nicholas, MDiv, Senior Pastor, Lincoln Memorial United Methodist; and Convener, African American Health Disparities Task Force, said, “ECMC has shown great leadership in making the initial investment for us to create our Center for African American Health Equity. As we move forward, the Center will focus on research, public policy, advocacy and programmatic responses to the social determinants of health.”
Kinzer M. Pointer, MCM, Pastor, Agape Fellowship Baptist Church, and Chair of the Board of Managers, Millennium Collaborative Care, said, “ECMC is the community hospital that serves most of the people in the problem zip code areas. We are pleased and excited that ECMC Corporation is the first community partner to step forward and earmark significant dollars to this effort. We are grateful to Dr. Quatroche for his visionary leadership.”
The announcement was made at IGNITING HOPE 2019: ‘Building a Culture of Health & Ending African American Health Disparities’ held Saturday, August 17th at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.
Convened by the African American Health Disparities Task Force, “Igniting Hope 2019: Building A Culture of Health & Ending African American Health Disparities” was held Fri., Aug. 16 and Sat., Aug. 17, 2019 at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo at 955 Main St., Buffalo. The Conference was free and open to all community members.
The 2019 Conference featured leading African American public health experts who have experience in initiating and engaging communities to effect a change in minority health disparities including Moro Salifu, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, Director of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center; John Ruffin, PhD, Founding Director, National Institute on Minority and Health Disparities; and Lisa A. Nicholas, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California Los Angeles Ronald Reagan Medical Center. Conference Gold sponsors included Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI) and G-HEALTH Enterprises.
About The African American Health Disparities Task Force (For further Information: https://tinyurl.com/yy96t5da)
Vision: The African American Health Disparities Task Force will eliminate race/ethnicity-based health disparities among African Americans in the City of Buffalo, NY by addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).
Mission: The African American Health Disparities Task Force (SDOH) identifies areas of racial/ethnic health disparities in the City of Buffalo, proposes and helps implement solutions on a community level, and influences public policy to improve the health and health care of the community. Through collaboration with its community partners, the AAHDTF focuses on: Research, Advocacy, Policy, Program Development, Community Engagement, Assessment, Education, and Consulting.
Goals: Established in 2015, the AAHDTF is committed to the following goals and accomplishments:
Establishment of a working group of community partners that represent the African American Community, Academia, Clinical representatives, healthcare institutions and community-based organizations as the African American Health Disparities Task Force. Develop and implement a work plan that will engage the community in a robust and interactive strategy, concentrating on the SDOH to eliminate race-based disparities. Establishment of “The Buffalo Center to Eliminate African American Health Disparities.”
About the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Corporation: The ECMC Corporation was established as a New York State Public Benefit Corporation and since 2004 has included an advanced academic medical center with 573 inpatient beds, on- and off-campus health centers, more than 30 outpatient specialty care services and Terrace View, a 390-bed long-term care facility. ECMC is Western New York’s only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, as well as a regional center for burn care, behavioral health services, transplantation, medical oncology and head & neck cancer care, rehabilitation and a major teaching facility for the University at Buffalo. Most ECMC physicians, dentists and pharmacists are dedicated faculty members of the university and/or members of a private practice plan. More Western New York residents are choosing ECMC for exceptional patient care and patient experiences – the difference between healthcare and true care™.