BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and Erie County Medical Center Corp. recently announced a three-year contract extension that ensures BlueCross BlueShield’s members will continue to benefit from ECMC’s facilities and services.
ECMC is Western New York’s largest hospital and the only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center. Its advanced academic medical campus includes specialized centers of excellence, primary care and family health centers, and outpatient specialty-care services. ECMC is affiliated with Great Lakes Health System, the entity integrating Kaleida Health, ECMC and the University at Buffalo.
“ECMC is very pleased to extend our relationship Blue- Cross BlueShield of Western New York and their members. As we work together to improve quality and affordability of healthcare for our community, we will continue to develop programs together that are both innovative and patient focused,” said ECMC president and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr.
“We are pleased to continue our strong relationship with ECMC,” said BlueCross BlueShield president and CEO Dave Anderson. “Our successful negotiation certainly assures our members’ access, but more importantly, this three-year contract extension speaks to our mutually shared goals to support the quality care that is delivered at our region’s Level 1 Trauma Center, as well as the other inpatient and outpatient services provided by ECMC.”
In April, BlueCross BlueShield announced a $1 million grant for ECMC’s future Trauma Center/Emergency Department, specifically to expand behavioral health and detoxification care pathways starting at the point of admission. In addition to being one of the largest chemical-dependency treatment centers in Western New York, ECMC is the only Buffalo-area hospital that offers a psychiatrist in the emergency room and chemical dependency evaluations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Date: January 3, 2019
Source: Clarence Bee