Questions remain in combining hospitals

Hard-fought agreement stops short of merging ECMC, Kaleida Health By Henry L. Davis NEWS MEDICAL REPORTER Updated: 06/25/08 6:49 AM When a state commission ordered Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center to join forces, the deal was guaranteed to be big. Together, they employ more than 13,000 people, take in $1.3 billion a year and account for 40 percent of all the hospital care in the eight counties of Western New York. Although Kaleida Health is much larger, the institutions also have maintained an edgy rivalry similar to that of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. Now, after months of acrimonious public battling over how to combine, the challenge is to figure out what Monday’s agreement means. Here are answers to some questions: Q— The state commission mandated a unified, nonprofit governance structure that... [read full story]