150224 Memorial event

Niagara Falls - Memorial Medical Center CEO Joseph Ruffolo, Erie County Medical Center Intern CEO Richard C. Cleland and Kaleida Health President and CEO Jody L. Lomeo listen as Robert Cleveland NYS Certified Paramedic and manager of Rural Metro Medical Services speaks at the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. The health care partners announced a three-point plan Tuesday to bring lifesaving cardiac care closer to home for Niagara County residents while directly addressing disparities in the availability of that care to African Americans and people living in poverty. Called the Full Circle of Heart Care project, the collaborative effort calls for ECMC to decertify its license for one of its three cardiac catheterization labs and transfer the license to Kaleida Health. Kaleida’s Gates Vascular Institute would then establish a cardiac catheterization lab at Memorial’s Heart Center of Niagara.Photo by: Dan Cappellazzo