Buffalo Medical Group to open "heathcare hub" at former First Niagara Bank site
Sep. 27—The Buffalo Medical Group plans to open a new, local "healthcare hub site" on Jan. 8. The facility will work out of the first floor of the former First Niagara Bank headquarters site at 6960 South Transit Road.
Plans to create a Niagara County location were in the works as early as 2020, but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plans slowed, said Matthew Nowakowski, facilities and project manger for BMG. Now, as the region has opened up again, BMG was able to create its vision of primary medical care for both Niagara County and northern Erie County residents, by opening a location close to the I-990.
Nowakowski also noted that this is not a hospital with long-term beds or an emergency room capable of procedures other than a scraped knee. However, he did note that patients will meet their surgeons at the facility, have the surgery done offsite and all follow up care will be done back at the facility in Lockport.
"We're very proud of that follow-up care that patients will receive," he said.
The new location encompasses approximately 19,000 square feet, 440 parking spots, 40 exam rooms, 35 staff members and 21 providers, including six primary care doctors.
Services the facility will include lab blood draw, X-ray, ultrasound and oncology. Specialty providers include oncology, orthopedics, podiatry, urology and the possibility of additional services to be added.
Waiting time at the building will be mostly five to 10 minutes to see a doctor, with an appointment, and it will all take place in a the facility's large waiting area before walking in to see their doctor. No sub-waiting rooms, Nowakowski said.
"Patient flow is a big focus of ours," Deb Bauer, chief financial officer of BMG, said. "We wanted to make sure everything flowed nicely and naturally for our patients without it feeling like a maze."
One of the changes, since the pandemic, is the virtual technology implemented during these three years, said Dr. Robert Zielinski, oncologist and BMG associate medical director. He noted some patients are able to pop out from work for ten minutes in their parked car and talk to their doctor over Facetime. That doesn't mean one should never go to a doctor's appointment, he cautioned.
"That's helping a need, but it's also a problem because people are not physically coming in for their appointments," he cautioned. "For simple things, though, that don't really require a physical presence it's really been convenient for people."
