BUFFALO, NY – Kaleida Health of Buffalo, N.Y., closed on a $100 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development insured mortgage loan to fund construction of a new global heart and vascular institute.
The $100,253,000 loan is Kaleida's fourth HUD mortgage loan.
"With the challenges everyone is facing with the credit markets and a difficult economy, this is a tremendous accomplishment," said Joseph Kessler, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Kaleida Health. "The HUD loan will have a tremendous impact on western New York. The new global heart and vascular institute is destined to be the flagship hospital here with improved quality and better access for the patients that we serve."
Kessler said the $291 million facility would bring together Kaleida Health physicians and University at Buffalo researchers to deliver state-of-the-art clinical care, produce breakthroughs on the causes and treatment of vascular disease and spin off new biotechnology businesses and jobs.
The building will house four floors of Kaleida Health's $173 million merger of its cardiac, stroke and vascular operations, plus a new and expanded emergency department. It will also house research and development facilities, including four floors for the University of Buffalo's $118 million Clinical and Translational Research Center and a biosciences incubator.
According to Kessler, the complex arrangement brings together a not-for-profit as well as two government agencies, HUD and the State University of New York. He said overall savings are estimated to be between $18 million and $20 million by combining the organizations.
"This is a dynamic, long-term partnership and there are hopes to generate similar savings in the future as we discuss the possibilities of working together on other projects," Kessler said.
When complete, the Kaleida Health-UB facility (including Buffalo General's main bed tower) will house nearly 600 patient beds, 30 operating rooms, 17 interventional labs for cardiac, vascular and neurosurgical procedures, four CT scanners and four MRIs.
Kaleida anticipates that the new emergency department will accommodate more than 60,000 visitsa year, while the hospital will discharge nearly 27,000 patients.
Construction, which began Sept. 1, 2009, is expected to take approximately two years to complete, with doors opening in late 2011.
