Quality at ECMC – 2023

January

• The Joint Commission granted ECMC three-year Comprehensive Accreditation.

February

• The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) has processed a payment in the amount of $1,640,522.39 from FEMA. This payment is related to Disaster 4480 COVID-19 declared on Mar 20, 2020. received two payments from FEMA this month the $1.6 Peter mentioned and $336,940.17 for a total of $1,977,462.56.
• Successful reaccreditation by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of Transplant program, housed in ECMC’s Regional Center of Excellence for Transplantation and Kidney Care.

July

• Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) issued three-year accreditation to ECMC’s Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Programs (through June 30, 2026) stating that this “achievement is an indication of [ECMC’s] dedication to improving the quality of the lives of the persons served.”
• ECMC’s Laboratory Services received another two-year accreditation for ECMC’s Transfusion Services following bi-annual on-site assessment by the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB).

• Erie County Medical Center has again been recognized by the Lown Institute for outstanding social responsibility, receiving an “A” grade on the 2023-24 Lown Institute Hospitals Index.  ECMC achieved this honor through strong performance across metrics of health equity, patient outcomes, and value of care, out of more than 3,600 hospitals nationwide.  In 2021, ECMC was ranked among the top 100 hospitals in the United States for racial inclusivity by the Lown Institute; in 2022 ECMC was ranked in the top 50 hospitals in the country for racial inclusivity.

September

• Terrace View Long-Term Care Facility has been recognized on Newsweek’s Best Nursing Homes 2024 list.  This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Only four percent of nursing homes nationwide received this distinction.  Of the 600 skilled nursing facilities state-wide that operate, 42 received this recognition.  It is a distinct honor to be ranked amongst the best nursing homes within both the state and the nation. This is the fourth consecutive year Terrace View has received this recognition.
• Erie County Medical Center has been awarded the Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence (CoE) designation by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The designation recognizes institutions that have created stewardship programs led by infectious disease-trained clinicians that advance science in antimicrobial resistance. The core criteria for the CoE program place emphasis on an institution’s ability to implement stewardship protocols by integrating best practices to slow the emergence of resistance, optimize the treatment of infections, reduce adverse events associated with antibiotic use and to address other challenging areas related to antimicrobial stewardship. A total of 179 programs nationwide have received the designation since the program’s launch.

October

• ECMC earned platinum recognition for its efforts to increase organ and tissue donor registrations across the country, through the DoNation Campaign.  DoNation is a national initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to educate our community about the crucial need for organ and tissue donation and to encourage people to sign up as organ and tissue donors. Since 2011, this campaign has encouraged more than 60,000 donor registrations nationwide.  Between October 2022 and September 2023, ECMC has actively participated in this campaign to earn this federal recognition.

November

• The American College of Emergency Physicians, implemented the Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program to recognize those emergency departments that provide excellent care for older adults. Communicating with our institution, representatives of GEDA stated, “…we are excited to announce that Erie County Medical Center’s Emergency Department has achieved the bronze standard – Level 3 GEDA accreditation.
• BRAVE (Buffalo Rising Against Violence at ECMC) achieved designation/certification as Western New York’s only Trauma Recovery Center. Our program is only the second NYS Office of Victims Services(OVS)-funded program in the state to attain that distinction from the National Alliance of Trauma Recovery Centers; the other is located across the state in Brooklyn. It’s a successful model that treats victims of violence holistically and proactively through comprehensive case management and assertive outreach. The goal is to meet people where they are and ensure they have basic needs met (stable housing, food, healthcare), so they can move from surviving the trauma to healing. Developed in 2001, the evidence-based Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) model is designed to provide emergency support, clinical care, and wraparound case management to help survivors in communities most impacted by violence stabilize in moments of crisis, heal from trauma, and address their needs in the wake of victimization.

December

• Announced December 14, 2023 by Governor Kathy Hochul, ECMC’s SNUG program was awarded a $2.8M state grant. ECMC’s SNUG program was one of 16 different community-based organizations and hospitals funded across NYS. Administered and supported by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, the SNUG Street Outreach program employs outreach workers, social workers, case managers and hospital responders who work in neighborhoods experiencing elevated levels of gun violence.