Jim Kelly Dedicates “Kelly Tough Room” at ECMC to Inspire Patients

Buffalo Bills Great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly joins family, friends and ECMCC caregivers in dedicating hospital room where he once received care

Erie County Medical Center Corporation (ECMCC) and NFL football great and member of the NFL Hall of Fame Jim Kelly today dedicated a patient room as the hospital’s “Kelly Tough Room”. The room is the same room where Jim received his medical care during his inpatient stays from June 2013 through June 2014. It features a variety of Jim Kelly sports memorabilia, including a framed autographed Buffalo Bills jersey that welcomes patients and visitors into the room. The room is painted with the same red, white and blue colors that are included in the official Kelly Tough logo and an inspirational quote from Jim is featured prominently on a section of one of the room’s walls: “MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY FOR SOMEONE WHO IS FIGHTING FOR THEIR TOMORROW”.

Jim Kelly said, “ECMC is a very special place where dedicated, hard-working caregivers treat every patient with “true care”. I know this personally and am very thankful to the remarkable physicians, nurses and so many others who helped me get through a very challenging chapter of my life. I have been to many other places for care, but there is no place better than ECMC for compassionate, quality care. I hope that the Kelly Tough Room helps to inspire patients, as well as their families and loved ones, to meet their challenges with courage and strength, and ultimately overcome their illness.”

ECMCC Chair Sharon L. Hanson said, “Jim Kelly has always been an inspirational figure in our community, first as a remarkable athlete and star of the Buffalo Bills, then as a devoted husband and father, particularly to his son Hunter, bringing much needed national and international awareness to a cruel disease and now as a cancer survivor, redefining courage and strength. We are grateful for Jim’s generosity and compassion in creating this unique and very inspiring Kelly Tough Room for ECMCC.” 

ECMCC President and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., Ph.D. said, “We are very proud to dedicate the Kelly Tough Room, commemorating Jim’s brave fight against cancer, but, perhaps more importantly, channeling Jim’s strength and tenacity into the design of the room to help inspire others who will face their own health care issues. As much as Jim continues to inspire people in Western New York and across the country, our caregivers at ECMCC, particularly those who worked directly with Jim while he was in our care, are thankful to Jim for his generosity and support of ECMCC.”

Thom R. Loree, MD, FACS, Chief of Department, Head and Neck Surgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery said, “It was a talented and diverse team of physicians, nurses and staff who collaborated to help provide the necessary care and treatment required to help Jim recover. As much as he fought and persevered as an athlete, he fought even harder and more tenaciously as a patient and we were honored to work with Jim, his devoted family and his dedicated friends and fans as he proceeded through a very challenging period. The new Kelly Tough Room is a very fitting tribute to Jim’s spirit and I am confident it will provide much inspiration to our patients.”