63 Erie County Medical CenterTimeline Dr. H. Courtenay Clarke, a gynecologist and resident physician devises a new surgical method through the use of laparoscopic surgery at Meyer Memorial. World: Discovery of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the invention of the computed tomography (CT) scan. 1972 – Trauma center established at Meyer Memorial under the direction of Dr. John R. Border. World: Nixon meets with Mao Zedong. Beginning of Watergate scandal. 1975 – Meyer Hospital installs the area’s first cataract surgery machine, the phacoemulsifier, that uses a modified form of the surgery which is applied with congenital cataracts. Erie County’s only methadone detox program is conducted by the Emergency Drug Abuse Service at Meyer Memorial Hospital. World: End of Vietnam War. 1977 – The Volunteer Services Department has 442 registered volunteers who donate 43,988 hours of time to the hospital. 1978 – Opening of Erie County Medical Center. World: Scientists identify previously unknown bacterium as the cause of Legionnaires disease. 1984 – Dedication ceremony for the David K. Miller Office Building. 1988 – NYS Dept of Health funds ECMC to be the diagnostic and medical center for the Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance Center of WNY. 1989 – Opening of ECMC’s Regional Burn Treatment Center. 1990 – Initiation of the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) one of only five designated sites in New York State. World: Human Genome Project initiated. 1991 – ECMC emergency physicians were the first in the U.S. to use trauma ultrasound. 1992 – ECMC institutes WNY’s first home care program. Under the right conditions, patients can return home for continued care. 1994 – ECMC reports a $2 million surplus. World: 1996 - First vaccine for hepatitis A becomes available in U.S. Dolly the sheep was the first clone produced from a cell taken from an adult mammal. 1998 – Dr. Dubernard performs the first successful hand transplant in France. 1999 – The Buffalo Professional Firefighters (rooftop) Heliport opens at ECMC, saving time and saving lives. 2000 – Opening of the Grider Family Health Center on the ECMC Health Campus. 2001 – ECMC opens an all new Heart Care Center featuring digital cardiac catheterization laboratories. ECMC upgrades its MRI unit with the addition of state-of- the-art technology to enhance image quality. The Center for Cancer Care at ECMC awarded a $30,000 grant from the WNY Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. ECMC was the only hospital in Western New York that was ranked among the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals in two service categories, Intensive Care and Cardiac Care. World: First telesurgery performed by a surgeon in New York on a patient in France. 2003 – Grand opening of new Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, the most technologically advanced adult surgical suite in WNY. World: Human Genome Project completed. 2004 – The Erie County Medical Center Healthcare Network becomes an autonomous health system as a Public Benefit Corporation. 2006 – A report by the New York State Department of Health announces that ECMC has the best cardiac surgery survival rates in Western New York. ECMC ranks first among 50 New York trauma hospitals for trauma survival. 2007 – ECMC implements Bedside Medication Verification System to protect patients from medication errors. Creates a Breast Health Center and a Bone Health Center. Opens a new cardiac catheterization suite featuring three digital imaging cath labs. ECMC is recognized in the 2007 “America’s Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News & World Report by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines program in an ad for performance achievement in cardiac patient care. 2008 – Creation of Great Lakes Health System of Western New York forming a collaborative partnership among ECMC, Kaleida Health, the University at Buffalo, and the Center for Hospice & Palliative Care. ECMC is approved as a Designated Stroke Center. Computerized Physician Order Entry System further improves patient safety. 2010 – Opening of Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine. 2011 – Opening of Regional Center of Excellence for Transplantation & Kidney Care. 2013 – Opening of Terrace View Long-Term Care Facility. 2014 – Opening of Regional Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health. 2015 – The Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons verifies ECMC a Level 1 Trauma Center, and the New York State Department of Health designates ECMC a Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, only the fifth in New York State. 2016 – Opening of the new outpatient Center for Orthopaedic Care. 2017 – Buffalo Spree names 22 ECMC physicians to its 2017 America’s Top Doctors list. ECMCC earns highest score in patient safety ratings, one of only 14 hospitals in New York State to receive an ‘A’ Patient Safety Score.