BNMC & UB Celebrate Computer Science & Engineering Month at AI & Machine Learning Summit
October is Computer Science & Engineering Month, and the BNMC celebrated on Friday, October 5th by hosting an AI & Machine Learning Summit with the University at Buffalo! More than 200 students, faculty, and industry professionals attended the event, which was held at UB Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences on the Medical Campus. BNMC’s CEO, Matt Enstice, welcomed the crowd and addressed the future of health care and medicine with the disruption of technology, followed by a keynote from Dr. Sargur Srihari, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering.
The evening then led into a technical roundtable, comprised of Dr. David Doermann, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor & Program Manager for DARPA, Robert Ruocco, CIO for BlueCross BlueShield of WNY, and George Small, CTO at Moog, Inc. BNMC’s CIO, Sam Marrazzo, moderated the discussion, which focused on how AI and machine learning is currently affecting their organizations and visions for the future, as well as how they’re preparing for the next wave of technology. BNMC is proud to have hosted this event with our partners, and we look forward to continue building and supporting a culture of technology in Buffalo.
Worksite wellness is a hot topic and here’s why: For every $1 a company spends on a comprehensive wellness program, $8 can be saved in health care costs by lowering medication usage, surgeries or preventing illness and disease over five years.
That’s a solid return on investment, said Beth Machnica, healthy communities catalyst for Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Inc.
She’s leading the charge to see the region gain “company health champions” of all sizes and in every industry. And she’s doing it through the Buffalo Healthy Workplace Initiative, led by BNMC and funded by a five-year grant from the state Department of Health.
It’s linked to a public health effort titled “Creating Healthy Schools and Communities,” whose goal is to reduce major risk factors of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
“The Buffalo Healthy Workplace Initiative is a platform for collectively transforming workplaces into environments of health promotion, one step at a time,” Machnica said.
She is tasked with bringing together diverse employers to learn from each other, develop best practices and improve their focus on creating a healthier workplace.
Indeed, a company’s overall environment and culture influence the health of people who work there, she said, from such things as air quality to the type of lighting, infrastructure that supports physical activity and access to healthy food in vending machines and cafeterias. It’s also important to address social, emotional and mental health components.
“Through this initiative, BNMC makes recommendations for how workplaces can improve after an initial benchmarking exercise on these components,” she said.
Hwp-contenty and healthy employees are more productive, and offering a strong wellness program “is a huge competitive advantage that many are beginning to realize,” she said.
Have local businesses stepped up to the plate on this? Although Buffalo is home to the chicken wing, there is great momentum among local employers and insurers in being places of health. Some worksites have been at it for quite some time. They have state-of-the-art gyms, showers, walking treadmills, free healthy lunch and snacks, personal training, chair massage, stress management and financial wellness classes. Other local companies are just getting their feet wet in the space.
How can you help? BNMC has varying levels of resources, technical assistance, infrastructure and equipment to provide organizations at any level of wellness to expand and/or improve their current programs.
Can companies learn from each other and share ideas? We help companies learn from each other and share ideas through our work council model. Each month we bring together representatives from each of the organizations involved. Most times we meet at the Innovation Center on the medical campus and focus on a certain topic, such as Social Determinants of Health, Cross Generational Differences, or Active Transportation in relation to a wellness program. Sometimes we meet at other worksites to get a tour of their facilities and get a presentation of their wellness program. The majority of participants have reported in our annual survey the biggest benefit from attending these meetings other than the content is the opportunity to network.
What drives you to make difference? I am passionate about the work I do. I feel strongly about preventive health; I want to prevent chronic disease in the population as a whole more so than I want to work with individuals. Our health care system is so focused on treating sick people. I think we need to focus more on prevention altogether. And in order to do that, changes in our environment and changes at the systems level are needed, which can make a larger impact than treating people individually and putting Band Aids on things. For me, the workplace wellness space is a perfect fit to address preventive health in the population at the systems level.
What’s the bottom line? Organizations must be strategic in offering a strong wellness program that is relevant to the unique needs of their population and invest in their employees’ health. It takes time to change a habit, behavior, lifestyle and overall a workplace culture. The return, monetary or otherwise, will come with time.
What makes the timing right for this initiative? Health and wellness is trendy right now in general. With healthy food spots opening up and free yoga everywhere, Buffalo is becoming a landscape for health and well-being. Employers are catching on to this and expanding the variety of diversity of wellness offerings as a result.
BNMC Receives USDA Grant to Enhance Local Food Procurement Efforts in Health Care
Three-Year, $351K Grant Prioritizes Local Agriculture from New York State
Buffalo, NY – October 1, 2018 – The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) has received a $260,325 grant to create a model for health care institutions to integrate technology and cultivate a culture of healthy food practices to increase local food procurement. The grant includes a local match of $91,063 bringing the project total to $351,388. The BNMC is one of 44 organizations around the country, and one of only 4 organizations to receive funding in New York State, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) during this grant cycle.
“Increasing access to local foods, especially in a place with such robust agriculture and other locally-sourced food, is good for the health of our people and good for the health of our economy,” said Jonathan McNeice, project director for the grant and director of healthy communities efforts for the BNMC. “Supporting local food procurement is part of our overall effort to continue to create a culture of health and wellbeing both on the BNMC and throughout our region.”
This grant builds upon the more than $2M in public and private funding that the BNMC and its community partners have secured over the past fifteen years to support healthy eating, healthy worksites, and active living policies and programs in Western New York.
BNMC’s Farm-to-Hospital Initiative began in 2015 with a $25,000 grant from the USDA Local Food Promotion Program to assess feasibility for sourcing local food on the Medical Campus. The process included identifying champions inside each organization, providing learning opportunities, gathering data, engaging suppliers, partnering with experts in the field, and creating a foundational plan for future implementation. This project will now shift to an implementation phase and seek to work with food service providers, hospital staff, and farmers dedicated to this initiative and partner closely with Health Care Without Harm to implement a local model on the BNMC. Health Care without Harm is an international group dedicated to transforming health care worldwide to reduce its environmental footprint and become a leader in sustainability, environmental health, and justice.
“BNMC Fresh: Farm to Hospital Implementation” will create a model that prioritizes local agriculture from New York State, enabling farms to access new markets (hospitals), and can be replicated across the state. The initiative aims to establish enhanced food chain transparency from farmers to distributors to institutions; as well as implement customized crop plans in both hospitals that merge New York State’s top crops with institutional demand.
This collaborative work is expected to create a culture that embraces local farms through prioritizing local procurement; establishes and expands community supported agriculture (CSA) and farmers’ market programs; establishes food chain transparency; increases awareness and knowledge among consumers of local food procurement efforts; and provides knowledge and skill-building opportunities to agribusiness stakeholders (farmers, distributor, food service teams). This project ultimately aims to make local procurement a regular practice and culture among health care institutions.
“Roswell Park has been thrilled to partner with the BNMC on both the planning grant and the upcoming implementation grant,” said Christina Dibble, director of nutrition and food services at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Given the unique needs of cancer patients, we’ve made it a priority to provide seasonal, local foods for our patients, visitors, and employees when available, and we look forward to expanding our local offerings through channels that this grant opens up for us.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $102.7 million to increase opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and other growers across the country through five grant programs. The funding supports a variety of locally-led projects intended to expand markets for local food promotion and specialty crops. Of that total, $13.45 million is directed to 44 projects, including the BNMC’s, to support the development and expansion of local and regional food businesses to increase domestic consumption of, and access to, locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets through the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP).
About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) is a multi-anchor social enterprise focused on driving innovation in partnership with our community. As the non-profit charged with addressing shared issues among our member institutions, the BNMC plays a significant role in driving positive change that builds a vibrant, innovative environment. We focus on improving infrastructure, managing our transportation system, creating a culture of health and wellbeing, driving innovation, and working with our partners to continue to build an innovative district that reflects the best of our community.
We’re excited to announce our 2018-2019 Beakers.& Beer schedule! These free networking events are on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 5-7 PM. Registration is required to attend. Visit BNMC.org/beakers to sign up.
Healthy Victory: Highlighting our Collaborative Partnership with the Foundry, GroundWork Market Garden, African Heritage Food Co-Op, and YouthBuild of the Service Collaborative of WNY
As year three of BNMC’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) grant from New York State Department of Health comes to a close this September, the Healthy Communities team celebrates this past year’s successes.
Over the past year, our group has collectively worked on a project that not only increases access to healthy affordable foods for residents in East Buffalo, but does so through a community-driven wp-contentroach that builds neighborhood capacity and social capital.
Identifying the Problem
In BNMC’s work as part of the CHSC grant to increase healthy food access in communities throughout the city of Buffalo, it was wp-contentarent both food consumers and producers in East Buffalo face significant challenges. Residents experience a complex environment of societal, social, and health disparities that are especially amplified among people of color, all while residing in neighborhoods largely void of easily accessible grocery stores with affordable fresh foods. These conditions existed in the context of a food environment where some urban farmers struggled to connect with nearby neighbors, establish a farm stand, and find efficient models for transporting their harvests, on top of all the other challenges farmers already face.
Developing a Solution
BNMC identified a collaborative opportunity to merge both consumer and producer needs: The Farm Stand Project. The Farm Stand Project brings together GroundWork Market Garden, African Heritage Food Co-Op, The Foundry, YouthBuild, and BNMC to build mobile farm stands that bring locally grown fresh foods to residents who need it most.
By partnering with The Foundry and YouthBuild, the farm stands for GroundWork Market Garden and African Heritage Food Co-op were designed and built by community members who come from the neighborhoods the stands will serve. Every Friday morning from 9am-12pm from January 2018 through July 2018, the youth met at The Foundry and worked with professional carpenters and welders to build the farm stands. While the stands are currently undergoing finishing touches, the team aims to start using them as soon as possible for the current 2018 growing season.
The BNMC Healthy Communities Team has two more years (until September 2020) to continue its CHSC work supporting healthier communities throughout the city of Buffalo.
About The Foundry
The Foundry is a nonprofit small business incubator in East Buffalo that includes a makerspace, woodshop, metal shop, tech lab, textile lab, and also offers classes to the public. In addition to their daily operation, they also partner with the Service Collaborative of WNY’s YouthBuild program, which provides at-risk or low-income youth the opportunity to complete their education, earn their GED, and learn in-demand job skills while taking part in community revitalization projects.
The BNMC has partnered with LaunchNY on a new Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) incubator. Paul Tyno, who serves as BNMC’s strategic advisor for Energy Initiatives, has been named by Launch NY as Program Director for the incubator.
Working with Marnie LaVigne, Ph.D., Executive Director for ECO, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Launch NY, Mr. Tyno will bring his background in clean energy industry and demonstration projects to bear in ECO’s support for new cleantech companies as part of growing the region’s overall cleantech cluster. ECO was announced on May 30th as the sixth and latest clean energy incubator to receive a four-year award from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The ECO incubator will provide individual mentoring, commercialization resources, technical assistance, business development support, and funding for seed and early stage clean energy companies who contribute to the goals of New York State’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), a strategy to build a clean, resilient, and more affordable energy system, while actively spurring energy innovation, bringing new investments into the State, and improving consumer choice. REV includes a mandate for 50 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable sources by 2030, in addition to having a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels.
Summertime offers a great opportunity to get active and engaged on the BNMC! With a new event or activity every week, there’s no shortage of fun and healthy things to do on Campus. Our schedule boasts many of our longtime signature events like Tunes in the Tent, Walking on Wednesdays, and our Annual BNMC Fit Wellness Fair, plus several NEW offerings, including morning & evening yoga, bike breakfasts for our active commuters, and Medical Campus Monday walking tours.
Whether you’re into the local music scene, an active bike advocate, or a mall-walker looking for a change of pace — we promise, there’s something for everyone to be part of and enjoy!
Check out our schedule below and be sure to register where you see links.
JUNE
June 6: Tunes in the Tent with Colored Musicians Club | 12-1 p.m. | Ellicott Park, Ellicott & Virginia Sts. June 11:Medical Campus Monday Walking Tour | 4:30-5:30 p.m. | Meet at the Innovation Center, 640 Ellicott St. June 13: Morning Yoga | 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Corner of Washington & Carlton Sts. June 20: Walks on Wednesdays led by Dr. Roseanne Berger, UB Jacobs School of Medicine | 12-1 p.m. | Meet at Main & Allen Sts. June 27: BNMC Fit Employee Wellness Fair | 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | Wyndham Garden Buffalo, 125 High St. Yoga EVERY Tuesday after work | 5:15-6:15 p.m. | Washington & Carlton Streets
JULY
July 9: Medical Campus Monday Walking Tour | 4:30-5:30 p.m. | Meet at the Innovation Center, 640 Ellicott St. July 11:Morning Yoga | 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Corner of Washington & Carlton Sts. July 11: Tunes in the Tent with Live DJ | 12-1 p.m. | Ellicott Park, Ellicott & Virginia Sts. July 18: Walks on Wednesdays led by Shirley Johnson, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center | 12-1 p.m. | Meet at Roswell’s Kaminski Park, Elm & Carlton Sts. July 25: GO BNMC Bike Breakfast | 8-9:30 a.m. | Ellicott Park, Ellicott & Virginia Sts. Yoga EVERY Tuesday after work | 5:15-6:15 p.m. | Washington & Carlton Streets
AUGUST
August 1: Tunes in the Tent with Ellen Pieroni Quartet | 12-1 p.m. | Lawn @ Washington & Carlton Streets August 6: Medical Campus Monday Walking Tour | 4:30-5:30 p.m. | Meet at the Innovation Center, 640 Ellicott St. August 8:Morning Yoga | 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Corner of Washington & Carlton Sts. August 8: BNMC Summer Block Party! | 4:30-7:30 p.m. | Roswell’s Kaminski Park & Gardens August 15: Walks on Wednesdays led by Lisa Schmidt, COO, Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute/Oishei Children’s Hospital | 12-1 p.m. | Meet at Colby Park, next to MiGO parking garage at 134 High St. August 22: GO BNMC Bike Breakfast | 8-9:30 a.m. | Ellicott Park, Ellicott & Virginia Sts. Yoga EVERY Tuesday after work | 5:15-6:15 p.m. | Washington & Carlton Streets
Nearby Farmers’ Markets
Roswell’s Market at the Park, Kaminski Park & Gardens, Elm. & Carlton St. | Wednesdays from 1am-1pm
Moot Community Center at 292 High Street | Thursdays from 10am-12pm (5 minute walk from Buffalo General Medical Center, Oishei Children’s Hospital, Gates Vascular Institute and Roswell Park)
Downtown Country Market on Main St. between Court & Church Streets | Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10am-2:30pm
Salvation Army at 960 Main St. | Tuesdays from 11am-1pm
BNMC Research Discovery Day Encourages Collaboration
BNMC Partners recently hosted the first Annual BNMC Research Discovery Day. More than 250 researchers, scientists, students, and leaders attended this collaborative event designed to promote the services and shared resources of the biomedical companies and institutions on the Medical Campus.
Dr. Johnson Lau, CEO and Board Chairman of Athenex was the luncheon keynote speaker, inspiring local researchers to dream big and take their idea or company global. More than 50 researchers, postdocs, PIs, technicians, companies, and vendors presented posters in an afternoon session designed to raise awareness of the services available right here in Buffalo.
The morning session focused on the power of collaboration and creative brainstorming, led by international creativity expert Dr. Roger Firestein. Partners from Hauptman-Woodward Institute, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, AMRI, Zeptometrix, and the University at Buffalo spoke about their research offerings and attendees were able to identify high-level collaboration opportunities.
This event would not have been possible without the generous support from KeyBank, and the dynamic planning committee led by leaders from Hauptman-Woodward Institute, AMRI, Zeptometrix, and Roswell Park. Many thanks to everyone who participated in this event – we hope to see even more next year!
Bike to Work Breakfast to Celebrate Cyclists and Improved Bike Amenities on Medical Campus this Friday
Improvements that support biking and commuting options are increasing on the Medical Campus, promoting health, environmental responsibility, and pedestrian-friendly streets.
WHAT: A breakfast gathering at the culmination of National Bike to Work Week to celebrate those who commute to work by bike and to highlight the many amenities and improvements on the Medical Campus specifically designed to create a bike-friendly culture.
The Medical Campus has the densest bicycle parking in the City of Buffalo with 233 spaces and secure bike parking, two Reddy Bike Stations with a total of 12 bikes for short term use, and geo-fencing around the Campus perimeter to allow users to leave Reddy Bikes anywhere on Campus rather than at a Reddy Bike station. Other amenities include a newly painted crosswalks at Ellicott and Virginia with more to be added this summer, covered and locked bike storage, and 100 additional bike racks added to the Campus this summer, including additional secure bike storage.
WHEN: Friday, May 18th 7:30 AM – 10 AM
WHERE: At the park at the corner of Ellicott and Virginia Streets on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
WHO: BNMC is hosting the event in partnership with Gobike Buffalo to celebrate bike commuters and those using active commuting options to get to work.
Collaborating partners in transportation planning will be on hand to share information about transportation options, programs and amenities on Campus that encourage Campus employees to try biking, walking, transit, and carpooling. Partners include GObike Buffalo, Go Buffalo Niagara, Reddy Bikeshare, NFTA, and others.
Breakfast and coffee provided by The Grove and Caffeology.
WHY: BNMC and its transportation partners are committed to creating a bike-friendly campus and encouraging local residents to try new modes of transportation that are environmentally friendly, promote health, and contribute to a cyclist and pedestrian-friendly city.
2017 was a pivotal year for the BNMC with the opening of the Oishei Children’s Hospital and the new home of the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. With these now in place, our Campus has become an even more vibrant, collaborative, and innovative place for our anchor institutions, private companies, employees, students, visitors, and neighbors.
This year’s Report to the Community highlights our work to re-imagine our city’s future through the dynamic intersection of technology, health, discovery, and collaboration, including:
Driving innovation, job growth & economic development
Cultivating a safe, accessible, active and inclusive district that fosters health and wellbeing, supported by smart, sustainable transportation
Strengthening our community with economic opportunities benefiting youth, residents, businesses, and neighborhoods.
By dreaming big, our collaborative efforts will continue to lift our community and our collective renaissance. Join us – we’re just getting started!
About the BNMC: The BNMC is a multi-anchor social enterprise focused on cultivating innovation in partnership with our community. As the non-profit charged with addressing shared issues of concern among our member institutions, the BNMC plays a significant role in driving positive change to ignite urban revitalization. We focus on improving infrastructure, managing our transportation system, creating a culture of health and wellbeing, driving innovation, and working with our partners to continue to build an innovation district that reflects the best of our community.
Minority, Women & Veteran-Owned Businesses Invited to Purchasing Event on BNMC
The BNMC will host a “matchmaker” networking event on Thursday, March 22 designed to connect owners of small, local businesses with professionals who make purchasing decisions for the institutions on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and partner organizations. The event is free and open to all local businesses, with a particular emphasis on those businesses that are minority, women or veteran-owned, while space allows.
WHEN: Thursday, March 22 from 2 PM – 5 PM, Sign-up for meetings beginning at 1:45 PM
WHERE: Gaylord Cary Room in the Research Studies Center at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Across from Main Hospital Entrance)
WHO: The matchmaker networking opportunity will provide short one-on-one conversations with purchasing executives at the University at Buffalo, Roswell Park, and Kaleida Health on the BNMC, and other large purchasers including M&T and Catholic Health System.
Informal networking and light refreshments will also be available to participants throughout the event.
The event is designed for any local and women, minority and veteran business owners who want to learn how to do business with large institutions. This follows a highly successful event held in September that attracted nearly 70 participants.
Pre-Event Preparation: Interested participants are also invited to join a free pre-event webinar hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration on March 15 at 10 AM -11 AM to learn more about preparing materials, doing market research, creating a capability statement, and other issues pertinent to working with the Medical Campus institutions. The webinar can be found at http://events.sba.gov
The event is sponsored by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) and Roswell Park. Download the flyer.
About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC Inc.) is a self-sustaining social enterprise successfully combining innovation, job creation, and urban revitalization. It serves as the umbrella organization of the anchor institutions that make up the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus located within the 120-acre campus bordering Allentown, the Fruit Belt and Downtown. The BNMC Inc. fosters conversation and collaboration among its member institutions, its partners and the community to address critical issues impacting them, including entrepreneurship, energy, access and transportation, workforce and procurement, neighborhoods, and healthy communities, with the goal of increasing economic development and building a strong community. www.bnmc-old.local.
For more information, contact:
Marc Pope
Community Program Manager
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
mpope@bnmc-old.local | 716.218.7358
Green Team Keeps the BNMC Shining While Building Skills And Gaining Employment
If you have spent time on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus or in the BNMC’s Innovation Center, you have probably encountered one or more members of our “Green Team,” a group of individuals currently working as part of an wp-contentrentice-style program while handling building maintenance and landscaping for the BNMC. The small but impactful program helps nearby residents gain a variety of skills so that they can obtain, keep and realize success in future jobs.
The Green Team currently includes members of Buffalo’s refugee population who are working to improve their language skills along with their knowledge and abilities in areas that will provide opportunities for full-time employment. A total of 11 residents of the City of Buffalo have successfully completed or are currently part of the program, with members successfully “graduating” into new full-time, permanent jobs.
The workforce development program was created to provide a holistic wp-contentroach to preparing people who may have barriers to employment with the practical and life skills needed to be successful. In addition to building skills and experience by maintaining the BNMC’s multiple properties on the Medical Campus, the team also has classroom training in skilled trades such as plumbing, electrical, carpentry, HVAC, and horticulture. A dedicated workshop, built by Green Team members and the BNMC team together at the Innovation Center, is used for both practical purposes and hands-on training.
Recognizing that life circumstances can create issues that negatively impact successful employment, the program also includes education and guidance in areas such as communication, financial literacy, time management, computer skills, resume writing and much more. We also work with our team to overcome hurdles to employment including obtaining a driver’s license and or finding childcare when necessary. Personal mentoring for team members is also an integral part of the program to better understand some of their challenges and to help them overcome barriers to future success.
BNMC to Explore Ways to Create Greener, Safer and More Accessible Main Street Through Smart Infrastructure
When the City of Buffalo begins its $13 million streetscape improvement project on Main Street this spring, the BNMC team will work alongside them to identify opportunities for integrating smart transportation infrastructure and technology into the design to create a greener, safer, and more efficient streetscape ready for future transportation advancements.
The Smart Corridor Plan will focus on opportunities for improving multi-modal traffic efficiency, emissions reduction, access and mobility, and safety by incorporating leading-edge technology such as Internet of Things sensors, artificial intelligence, and streetscape design in the corridor’s transportation system. Design elements and technology improvements to be considered are wireless communications; sensing technologies; dynamic traffic control and crossing signalization; smart parking technologies; transit technologies including real time data and systems coordination; and renewable energy and energy efficiency wp-contentlications. Specific recommendations and anticipated costs for improvements to the City’s central thoroughfare between Goodell Street and Humboldt Parkway will be included.
The BNMC received $75,000 in funding for the project from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and New York State Department of Transportation.
Finding fresh, nutritious food in the workplace can sometimes be a challenge, especially with the lure of sugary snacks or vending machine fare close by. A number of area employers are trying to change that and are working together in the Buffalo Healthy Workplace Initiative, led by the BNMC, to make their workplaces healthier.
Funded through a five-year Creating Healthy Schools & Communities (CHSC) grant from the NYS Department of Health that the BNMC is a lead partner on, the goal of the public health initiative is to reduce major risk factors of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases in 85 high-need school districts and associated communities statewide. As part of the grant, the Buffalo Healthy Workplace Initiative brings together diverse employers to learn from each other, develop best practices, and improve their focus on creating a healthier workplace for their employees.
Local employers including New Era Cap Company, GObike Buffalo, Walsh Duffield, the BNMC, Harmac Medical Products, Independent Health and others are working together and within their own organizations to make the healthy choice the easy choice for their employees. For many company health champions, sharing ideas and celebrating successes with others helps to keep motivation high.
There are currently 21 employers in the program with a goal of reaching 50 within three years. The BNMC’s healthy communities catalyst, Beth Machnica, leads participating companies through an initial assessment of their current health and wellness programs, helps identify areas for improvement, and facilitates connections to local community programs and resources that can help make healthy improvements in their workplace. A post-assessment is also planned to quantify results. The group meets monthly to learn from each other.
If you or your company is interested in becoming a champion of creating healthy workplace culture, visit BNMC.org/healthyworkplace or contact Beth Machnica at emachnica@bnmc-old.local to learn more.
The newly opened $270 million John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital was a page turner in the latest chapter of the burgeoning downtown Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
So was the December opening of the University at Buffalo’s $375 million new home for its Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The completion of the new projects mark a turning point for the 120-acre campus at the epicenter of Buffalo’s renaissance.
In 2002, the campus was in its infancy with just three companies. Now boasting 4.5 million square feet of development and $1.4 billion in investments, the campus has moved beyond just medical institutions. It has taken shape with a diverse mix of health care, life science and technology companies, becoming fertile ground for entrepreneurs and their startups.
There is still more to come.
Campus planners are aiming for BNMC to rival medical campuses in places like Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Among the next steps are strengthening ties with higher education and the private sectors.
“We are so well positioned with all the institutions and assets that are here and now want to embrace the excellent universities and colleges,” said Matthew K. Enstice, CEO and president of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Inc. “We plan to build out” – meaning renovate – “more space for them to have a location so they can interact and be a part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that we have here.”
A big part of that vision is twp-contenting into local small and large companies, especially mature ones, and including them in the campus’ vision for its innovation district. “The world is changing so quickly in technology, that we’re putting a structure in place to help multiple, different companies innovate,” Enstice said.
Here’s what’s coming next on the Medical Campus:
• Design work is expected to start for renovation of existing buildings on the former Osmose Holdings site. In 2016, BNMC bought the 4.4-acre parcel, which is located at the northern edge of campus at Ellicott and Best streets and has parking for 200. It is expected to be a magnet for mature private-sector companies, along with universities and colleges, but will not be a second incubator, BNMC officials say.
• Ellicott Development Co. has a $4 million adaptive reuse development project underway at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, just north of the campus at Main and Best streets. To the south, Ellicott is planning a six-story retail and office building at 1091 Main St.
• Along the western edge of the campus, design work will begin for a redo of a critical stretch of Main Street from Goodell toward Canisius College. Meanwhile, a $7.5 million overhaul of Allen Street, including redesigned sidewalks and widened sections of the street, is expected to begin. Work will be done in phases, stretching from the eastern end of Allen toward Wadsworth.
• Workers will put the finishing touches on the exterior of UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, which opened to students earlier this month at 955 Main St. Final terra cotta panels are being installed on the Washington Street side of the building by spring. Most of the university’s labs are being moved in from mid-January through mid-March. With the medical school fully operational, 2,000 faculty, staff and students will be there daily.
• The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority’s newly renovated Allen Medical Campus Station has been integrated into the medical school. The station features “Gut Flora,” a colorful public art sculpture by Shasti O’Leary Soudant, and a newsstand opens this month. A one-block tunnel that serves as a pedestrian passageway to Washington Street will open beneath the medical school.
• The campus’ ninth pedestrian skybridge will be designed and constructed later in the year. It will span High Street, linking the Conventus medical office building to the UB Medical School. The new $1.5 million connector comes after three other skybridges just opened in November: one from Conventus to Oishei Children’s Hospital, another from Children’s Hospital to Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute, and a third leading out the back of Children’s Hospital to a new parking ramp at 854 Ellicott St.
• By late May, the $40 million, 1,825-space parking ramp behind Oishei Children’s Hospital at 854 Ellicott will be completed. The top half of the eight-story ramp has been under construction since late 2017. The bottom half of the eight-story ramp opened Nov. 10 with Oishei Children’s Hospital.
• The 128,000-square-foot Thomas R. Beecher Innovation Center at 640 Ellicott St. will be completely full by the end of March.
After Amherst native Matthew K. Enstice wrwp-contented up stints in the entertainment industry that took him to Broadway Pictures in Los Angeles and “Saturday Night Live” in New York City, his career dramatically swerved back to Buffalo.
He landed at the helm of the nonprofit organization overseeing the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Now, 17 years later, Enstice finds himself at the pulse of the expanding campus footprint, as he guides a shifting momentum in the campus’ growth.
With a collective projected workforce of 16,000 this year, the Medical Campus continues to make its mark – from hospitals to clinical and research facilities.
“We deliver health care here, and we’re going to do high-end health care here, but it’s changing,” said Enstice, president and chief executive officer of BNMC Inc. “Health care, as you know it, is a very, very different place. As that changes and evolves, you’re going to see opportunities in our community to utilize technology to develop companies for the future.”
The Medical Campus is already home to startup companies, entrepreneurs building businesses and high-tech companies. The momentum shows no signs of tapering off.
The future vision for the campus reflects a dedicated shift toward making room for local companies as they cut their teeth on new initiatives. The Medical Campus also looks to expand its innovation district to a 4.4-acre site on the northern edge of campus that once was the home of Osmose Holdings.
A visionary with high energy, Enstice is related to the prominent Jacobs family. His late father-in-law, Dr. Lawrence D. Jacobs, was a neurologist and world-renowned researcher specializing in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Often wearing a blue or white button-down shirt and khakis, he is known for his casual attire and carefree manner. He rarely breaks out a tie or suit.
Enstice recently met with The Buffalo News inside the campus Innovation Center to talk about the campus’ growth and future.
Q: What do monumental projects such as Children’s Hospital and the UB medical school say about the future of the campus?
A: People talked in years past that Children’s wasn’t moving over and there was a lot of controversy. But I think it showed how the community coming together can do great things, and that’s what Children’s is a true sign of.
Right now, the (medical school) has a major presence in the city. That, to me, is a game changer that I don’t think we can define right now.
I was sitting there at the opening, looking right out the window down Allen Street, and it was just amazing to envision what is Allen going to be like. What was so wild to see, was that I used to never see people walking there and there must have been 20 or 30 people coming out of that subway. It’s just the fact that we have so much traffic starting to develop down here. And that’s a real positive.
It’s just the beginning of more opportunities for our community to leverage these great assets and great organizations being here on the campus.
Q: How does Buffalo’s regional health care hub fit within the national mix?
A: I think that we’re one of the leading innovation districts. I just don’t think about it as health. If you look back to what Jerry Jacobs commissioned for looking at the future of medicine, it’s changing dramatically. And I believe we’re very well positioned because of our computer science school, our school of engineering and our ability to be leaders in the technology field. That’s what I think of.
So, we’ve been on the map. Having Children’s and the medical school down here, puts it on the map even more.
What we need to figure out how to do, and what we really want to do, in our next phases of development is to integrate the school of engineering and the schools of business.
How does Canisius College play a role here? How does Niagara University play a role here? How does Buffalo State College play a role here? We are so well positioned with all the institutions and assets that are here. So we plan to build out more space for them to have a location so they can interact and be a part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that we have here.
Q: What kind of involvement?
A: Let’s look at the future of medicine and all the work that we’re doing in energy, all the work that we’re doing in transportation. What’s the major driver behind those industries as they’re changing? It’s technology. We’re well positioned in building our community out to have a technology foundation that can enable health care, energy, transportation.
I’m talking this campus. We have all the resources. I don’t think we’ll build a building for a college. We want to build an environment where local businesses, big companies, are going to have a presence here.
Our plan is to build out space to embrace the local economy. I think, for too long, a lot of local businesses have not been engaged, because there hasn’t been a vehicle.
I believe that if you look across as to what’s going to help strengthen local companies, they have to be a part of what we’re doing. I think we can all help one another. That is what this is all about. How do we build a platform and a foundation in technology for everybody? Tech is not the next chapter. It’s the current chapter. It’s really what is going to be our great opportunity for the future.
We’ll use the footprint of the existing (Osmose) space that we have. As of right now, we are not planning to build a new building in the near future. We are planning to renovate the existing space. I think, over time, various companies will start to come in, but within the year is our goal is to start to see this development really start to take off.
Q: What would you say to naysayers who didn’t think this vision for the campus would ever materialize in the fashion that it has so far?
A: If you stay together and you’re straightforward and honest with one another, great things can hwp-contenten. That is at the core of what builds all the great stuff that’s down here on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus … If you look at the 4.5 million square feet of development, the $1.4 billion worth of investment, that was because people worked, planned, developed together.
Q: What is the greatest challenge facing the campus?
A: I think the greatest challenge is that people continue to work together and support one another … I think the biggest challenge you have is that sometimes people forget what got you here.
Q: Parking is a constant complaint or concern, and there’s a huge push to get people to use public transit more.
A: We have off-campus shuttles running. We have public transportation being utilized and programs in place. And it’s starting to work. People are actually trying it and it’s working. While it’s not perfect, it is an option. And so to me, we will always have a parking spot here for every patient and visitor that comes down here.
What we would hope to see is that more people live in and around the campus, in and around the subway station.
The mayor continues to talk about reinvesting in Main Street with infrastructure. He’s committed $10 million so far, going toward Canisius. We want to see the mayor continue on that and go all the way and connect us to Canisius College. … I believe if you continue to do that, you’ll see more residential units pop up on Main Street. You’ll see more people using the transit. That’s what we want to see.
Q: There are signs of spinoff development in Allentown. But for the Fruit Belt neighborhood, there always seems to be an undercurrent of concern, gentrification, trying to preserve the Michigan Avenue corridor, and a push for more parking. What do you foresee for the Fruit Belt?
A: For the Fruit Belt, I hope that there’s continued investment there in the infrastructure. The mayor has done a great job at fixing the streets, the sidewalks, the trees and the lights. I hope they continue to do that because I want to see more people invest in that neighborhood. … We believe that will be a positive if the community is part of the solution there.
I’m really intrigued by what’s going on in Masten, Fruit Belt and Allentown – to me, they’re very similar in the sense that they’ve always been engaged in a part of the process with what’s going on with the campus. Everybody’s always talked about it. Everybody’s had a light on it.
What I’m interested in is what is going on to the north. We believe there’s going to need to be more of an engagement there. I think it’s a community that people maybe have not paid as much attention to. But they’re on the border of all this stuff that’s going on here. So, it’s probably already hwp-contentening and we don’t know it.
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) to Create Smart Corridor for Main Street
Plan to be developed to integrate smart transportation infrastructure and technology to create an innovative, greener, safer, and more accessible street
Buffalo, N.Y., January 11, 2018 – The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) has received $75,000 in funding to develop an innovative solution for smart transportation infrastructure and technology, on Main Street along the BNMC, in downtown Buffalo. The BNMC project will complement the City of Buffalo’s ongoing Complete Streets initiative.
The project, Creating a Smart Corridor Plan for Main Street in Buffalo, N.Y., will focus on the current conditions, best practices and opportunities for improving energy efficiency, emissions reduction, access and mobility, and traffic safety on a densely populated section of Main Street. The study will result in specific recommendations and anticipated costs for improvements to the City’s central thoroughfare that runs from downtown, northeast to the City’s northern suburbs.
The study, which is being funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and New York State Department of Transportation, supports Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s nation-leading energy goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030.
The study will be conducted at the same time that the City of Buffalo is beginning the design process for a large-scale $13 million streetscape improvement project on Main Street from Goodell Street to Ferry Street, adjacent to the Medical Campus. The BNMC and the City of Buffalo plan to work together to identify opportunities for the implementation of smart transportation infrastructure and technology at the same time. The primary goal of the project will be to create a more innovative streetscape to ensure a greener, safer, more efficient and integrated transportation system for the future.
Main Street in the City of Buffalo, already a densely populated, mixed-use street with a multiple transportation options, has undergone a tremendous amount of new development, particularly near the thriving BNMC. It has been identified as a top priority for reconstruction though multiple planning efforts. As the area grows, there has been increasing interest in updating aging infrastructure, adding traffic calming measures, improving pedestrian and bicycling access and infrastructure, and improving access to the Metro Rail Stations along Main Street.
According to William Smith, Director of Access and Planning for BNMC, “The funding affords us the ability to identify opportunities to improve the street for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists while at the same time, to plan for the future with new technologies such as sensing technologies, wireless communications, autonomous vehicles, and dynamic and smart parking technologies that can help Buffalo become a model of efficiency, safety, and more sustainable environmental wp-contentroaches.” He added, “The timing is ideal, as we have the opportunity to work with the City of Buffalo as they embark on streetscape improvements that may allow us to integrate our recommendations simultaneously, vastly improving Main Street for all.”
“The Main Street corridor through the Medical Campus area is ripe for infrastructure improvements to compliment the development that continues to transform this area. My administration has led the way in initiating the transformation of Buffalo’s transportation network following the Complete Streets model that accommodates bicycles, pedestrians and motorists in an equitable manner. Working with the BNMC on this grant will afford the opportunity to advance the Complete Streets model with the latest technology,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said.
Work on the Smart Corridor Plan will begin this year and include developing an RFP process to choose a subcontractor who will work with BNMC and the City on smart corridor design considerations, anticipated benefits and associated costs; developing a project steering committee to guide the project, ensure coordination among stakeholders, provide relevant data, insight and information, and to review and comment on project findings; and developing a Smart Corridor recommendations report which will include a review of existing plans, technologies and conditions, an outline of best practices and potential opportunities, and specific recommendations and anticipated costs.
As part of its effort to develop a set of recommendations on design and technology considerations, BNMC expects to focus on elements including wireless communications; sensing technologies; connected and autonomous technologies including connected safety systems; dynamic traffic control and crossing signalization; smart parking technologies; transit technologies including real time data and systems coordination; and renewable energy and energy efficiency wp-contentlications.
In addition to the City of Buffalo, BNMC expects to work with representatives from BNMC member institutions, transportation service providers, utility companies, surrounding neighborhoods, and local and national experts in the field of smart transportation and city planning. The overall project is expected to be completed in 12 months.
About the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) is a self-sustaining social enterprise successfully combining innovation, job creation, and urban revitalization. It serves as the umbrella organization of the anchor institutions that make up the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus located within the 120-acre campus bordering Allentown, the Fruit Belt and Downtown. The BNMC Inc. fosters conversation and collaboration among its member institutions, its partners and the community to address critical issues impacting them, including entrepreneurship, energy, access and transportation, workforce and procurement, neighborhoods, and healthy communities, with the goal of increasing economic development and building a strong community. www.bnmc-old.local.
This fall, our team was proud to host the Topcoder Open (TCO), a prestigious global programming, design, and data science competition, and welcome the world’s top technology talent – representing 29 different countries – to our Innovation Center on the BNMC.
Hosting Topcoder was a big win for Buffalo and the BNMC as it allowed us to showcase our community to some of the top technology talent in the world and bridge the connection between technology and the medical field. Topcoder moves us one step closer to aligning current technical capabilities and our educational networks with our vision of building an ecosystem that grows and fosters technological and economic development.
Topcoder, the leading workforce marketplace with 1.1 million developers, designers, and data scientists around the world, chose BNMC to host this year’s finals competition as the city of Buffalo has recently emerged as a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in life sciences. TCO has been recognized as the world’s premier competition for the most talented technical minds; many of the world’s most respected tech companies keep a close watch on the competition and often hire top performers immediately. Past winners have gone on to successful careers at Google, Facebook, Blizzard Entertainment and Cisco.
At the Event
BNMC hosted the four-day competition, primarily in the Innovation Center, that culminated in Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul presenting a total of $60,000 to six top winners of the TCO. The multi-day UI Design Application Competition, sponsored by M&T Bank, challenged participants to develop an wp-content to connect eighth grade students at Westminster Community Charter School with adult mentors to help guide them through high school, college and life challenges after graduation.
We also held a number of complementary events surrounding TCO including school visits by the competitors and local tech talent; a video gaming competition attracting competitors from throughout New York State and Southern Ontario; and an Innovation Summit, sponsored by the BNMC and Topcoder, featuring leading experts from across North America who discussed issues including artificial intelligence (AI), the gig economy, and the future of digital along with other topics. BNMC also sponsored a local algorithm competition for college students and a STEM video challenge, powered by AT&T, awarding $1700 to nine local middle & high school students from the city of Buffalo and surrounding suburbs.
Why the BNMC?
The BNMC brings together design thinkers, social innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers, physicians, and researchers in Buffalo, New York. The Medical Campus is already home to disruptive new technologies and scientific advancements driven by thought-leaders in clinical care, research, education and business. Continuing to stay ahead of technology is critical to the future of medicine and to the further development of life sciences, materials informatics and biotechnology companies.
Thanks to the leadership of Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State, Buffalo is on its way to becoming a technology supercenter by building on the density of our resources.
WNY boasts more than a dozen colleges and universities, including the University at Buffalo, a premier research-intensive public university with a significant computer science and engineer department and an academic supercomputing facility of more than 170 Tflops of peak performance computer capacity; leading-edge hospitals and health care providers; world-renowned research institutions; and socially innovative private companies.
From world-class clinicians and researchers delivering outstanding health care and working toward medical breakthroughs, to innovative entrepreneurs bringing talent and business acumen, the Medical Campus is leading Buffalo’s economic renaissance.
Our team at BNMC is creating a dynamic Innovation District here in Buffalo by asking how we can better further the economic growth of our member institutions and partners, ignite urban revitalization, and build a strong thriving community.
The Innovation Center (powered by BNMC) is the largest business incubator in Buffalo, currently serving more than 100 companies, including 43North, the largest ($5.5M) business plan competition in the world, and the Z80 Labs technology accelerator.
Want your BFF to move back to Buffalo? On Wednesday, December 27th, the BNMC invites all expats (those who grew up here but for some reason have left Buffalo) to see what the buzz is all about in their hometown! Matt Enstice, BNMC’s President & CEO, will present on Buffalo’s booming Innovation District at 10 a.m., followed by tours of the Medical Campus led by the BNMC team.
Note: this event is only for people with Buffalo ties now living in other cities. We do host other events for the local community throughout the year.
Matthew K. Enstice, BNMC President and CEO, Joins National Commission to Slash Transportation Energy Use by Half
“50 by 50” Commission Includes Leaders from Across Private and Public Sectors
Buffalo, NY – October 26, 2017 – Matthew K. Enstice, President and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) will serve on a national commission launched today by the Alliance to Save Energy that will develop recommendations to reduce energy use in the U.S. transportation sector by 50 percent by 2050 while meeting future mobility needs. Enstice is one of only two representatives from New York State selected for the commission, along with Gil Quiniones, President and CEO of the New York Power Authority and the only representative from Western New York.
“With the growth of the Medical Campus and the continued renaissance in the City of Buffalo, we are acutely aware of the need to plan for transportation and energy issues so that we can take advantage of opportunities that emerging technologies present, and to plan for necessary changes to ensure efficiency, sustainability and to meet the needs of our community. I am delighted to share Buffalo’s perspective through this Alliance and to be part of developing sound strategies that will take us well into the future,” commented Enstice on his wp-contentointment.
As part of its role on the Medical Campus, BNMC focuses on comprehensive planning and implementation of transportation strategies to manage transportation, access, and parking issues on the 120-acre campus in downtown Buffalo. The non profit organization manages parking facilities, encourages alternative transportation modes, and has built infrastructure to encourage walking, biking and using public transit. In addition, the organization also works closely with partner National Grid and others on energy issues to ensure efficient use of energy resources.
The Alliance Commission on U.S. Transportation Sector Efficiency (Commission) is comprised of leaders representing vehicle manufacturers, utilities, federal agencies, cities, environmental and consumer groups, infrastructure providers and public transit. The Commission is convened by the Alliance to Save Energy, the leading national coalition advocating for enhancing energy productivity – doing more with less energy.
Transportation represents roughly one-third of U.S. energy consumption. The sector is undergoing a transformational change – ranging from the increased viability of alternative fuels such as electrification to advanced vehicle technologies, automation and shared mobility – offering enormous opportunities to improve energy efficiency. Improvements in efficiency will create jobs, improve energy security, boost competitiveness, save businesses and consumers money, and reduce emissions.
The Commission will work through six Technical Committees (Light-Duty Vehicles; Non-Road Vehicles; Heavy-Duty and Freight Vehicles; Enabling Infrastructure; Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Shared Mobility and Automation; and Outreach and Implementation) to develop the regulatory, policy and investment pathways to achieve the “50×50” goal. Following an outside peer-review process, the Commission will publish a final report, and engage local, state, and national officials, key stakeholder groups and the public to act on the recommendations.
Kateri Callahan, President, Alliance to Save Energy, said: “Transportation in the United States is changing rapidly and it presents an enormous opportunity to improve mobility while at the same time saving energy. We’re bringing together experts from across this sector because we need a comprehensive wp-contentroach to maximize the energy efficiency gains. The response to our invitations has been overwhelming and we’re eager to see this group put their heads together.”
More information about the Commission, including the full list of commissioners, is available at:
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) is a self-sustaining social enterprise successfully combining innovation, job creation, and urban revitalization. It serves as the umbrella organization of the anchor institutions that make up the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus located within the 120-acre campus bordering Allentown, the Fruit Belt and Downtown. The BNMC Inc. fosters conversation and collaboration among its member institutions, its partners and the community to address critical issues impacting them, including entrepreneurship, energy, access and transportation, workforce and procurement, neighborhoods, and healthy communities, with the goal of increasing economic development and building a strong community. www.bnmc-old.local.
This is the second post in a Microgrid Knowledge series and focuses on why clean energy microgrids for health care and hospitals make sense.
In most businesses, costs are a paramount concern. Hospitals are not most businesses.
At a hospital, loss of electricity can lead to loss of life. So for hospitals, reliable electricity has a very high value. That makes hospitals prime candidates for the installation of clean energy microgrids.
That was brought home in 2013 after the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon. Area hospitals were pushed to their limits, and that changed the perspective of many administrators. One area hospital was contemplating the installation of a CHP plant as part of a new facility. Typically, the decision to move forward with such a project would be heavily weighted on the economic benefit. But after the attack, this particular hospital “saw things in a whole different light,” says Michael Bakas, senior vice president at Ameresco. Economics were no longer the primary driving force. Instead, the first concern was the ability to act as a last line of def ense for the city in a crisis. The hospital could not lose its power; it had to be able to “island” or operate independently from the surrounding grid should disaster strike.
Unfortunately, that is a lesson that has been driven home several times in recent years—whether it is the Boston terrorist attack, the record flooding in Houston from Hurricane Harvey, the devastation in Florida from Hurricane Irma, the destruction of Puerto Rico’s grid from Hurricane Maria, or the near shut-down of New York City from Hurricane Sandy. Hospital administrators have had ample chance to gain firsthand experience of the importance of uninterrupted electrical service.
Existing safety regulations already require hospitals to have some form of backup generation, such as diesel generators. But when Sandy slammed into New York City in 2012, backup generators and other electrical systems failed at Bellevue Hospital, New York University’s Langone Medical Center, and at Coney Island Hospital, resulting in the evacuation of hundreds of patients during the storm. More recently, Hurricane Maria left hospitals in Puerto Rico unable to operate on patients, and undertake other critical procedures, because generators ran out of diesel fuel.
Backup generators may fulfill regulatory requirements, but they do not always perform when they are needed. In the 2003 Northeast blackout, half of New York City’s 58 hospitals suffered failures in their back-up power generators, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Part of the problem is that backup generators sit idle most of the time. Despite regular testing, they can fail when needed. Hospital microgrids, on the other hand, include some form of generation that operates on a regular basis, avoiding surprises when an emergency does hit.
Heat and power from one fuel
Hospitals that use a lot of steam, hot water, air conditioning and heat often benefit from CHP, which allows them to get two forms of energy from one clean fuel. CHP plants use the waste heat created in power generation, a byproduct typically discarded. This makes CHP a highly efficient form of energy.
Those were among the motivations when the New York State Research and Development Authority instituted the NY Prize, a program to aid the implementation of microgrids for critical facilities in the state. More than half of the 11 communities that were finalists in the $40 million program included hospitals in their projects.
The Town of Huntington on Long Island, one of the award recipients, is building a microgrid at Huntington Hospital with a 2.8-MW fuel cell and a battery storage facility that will enable the microgrid to island from the grid. The Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus, another NY Prize recipient, is strengthening its existing backup generators with a new CHP system, solar panels and battery storage to enable islanding.
Environmental and monetary benefits of hospital microgrids
Because of their software intelligence, microgrids are able to manage a hospital’s energy resources, so that the cleanest generation is used first.
While resilience and reliability may be compelling reasons, they are not the only motivation behind hospitals’ adoption of clean energy microgrids. According to a 2013 survey conducted by Johnson & Johnson, nearly 90 percent of hospitals reported that they were incorporating sustainability into their planning process. Because of their software intelligence, microgrids are able to manage a hospital’s energy resources, so that the cleanest generation is used first.
Being a good citizen is part of the rationale, but the falling prices for solar panels and battery storage makes choosing a microgrid a wise economic decision, as well.
That is particularly true as hospitals face growing budgetary concerns. Hospitals are heavy energy users, making them particularly vulnerable to rising energy costs. Even though hospitals account for less than 1 percent of all U.S. commercial buildings, they account for 5.5 percent of commercial building energy usage.
In addition to providing resiliency and reliability, an intelligent hospital microgrid can monitor grid electricity prices throughout the day and switch to its own lower cost energy when grid prices spike. By shaving the top off those energy peaks, a hospital can also lower its demand charges because those charges are based on peak usage.
Taking the first step in installing a microgrid could impose a hefty financial burden on a cash strwp-contented hospital, but the rising popularity of microgrids has spurred financial innovations that can ease that burden.
By signing a power purchase agreement with a microgrid developer, for instance, a hospital pays only for the energy it uses from the microgrid and shares any savings while the developer handles installation and operation and maintenance.
Hospitals are just one of society’s pillar organizations turning to clean energy microgrids. Higher education is another. We explain why in the next post.
Over the next few weeks, the Microgrid Knowledge series on clean energy microgrids will cover the following topics:
Matt talks with Sam Marrazzo, the BNMC’s new Chief Innovation Officer. Sam talks about why he sees himself as a connector of technology, people, and places. He also touches on how being stationed on the U.S.S. Independence kicked off his career in technology; the importance of strong university alignment to drive innovation within cities; his longtime partnership with Topcoder; and why we should all “run to math”.
2016 marked a year of tremendous progress for the BNMC. From construction projects dominating the Campus landscape to further attraction among companies and entrepreneurs drawn to the amenities and energy found here – the momentum has reached new heights and we’re just getting started.
The 2016 Community Report highlights our areas of impact, including how the Medical Campus is leading the way in:
Creating a culture of health
Testing new wp-contentroaches to sustainable energy
Developing strategies for local hiring to improve our workforce
Supporting entrepreneurship and providing a home for disruptive new technologies and scientific advancements
Managing growth through smart transportation planning
Engaging our neighbors
Inspiring the next generation of leaders
The BNMC is a self-sustaining social enterprise formed to coordinate the ongoing development of the Medical Campus and address issues common to the Campus and its partners. Our team builds on the assets of our world-class Medical Campus – known for its clinical care, research, and education – to support our mission of furthering economic growth, igniting urban revitalization, and building a strong, thriving community.
In our efforts to support sustainable communities around the Campus, it is essential that we keep an open dialogue with the neighborhoods that border the Medical Campus. I believe the buildings on the Medical Campus are not walls, but a catalyst of socio-economic change for Buffalo. That’s why a meeting like Four Neighborhoods, One Community is vital to creating a MutualCity, so we can work together to change our city’s future. – Marc Pope
The next Four Neighborhoods, One Community meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 20th in LEARN at the Innovation Center (640 Ellicott, 1st floor).
A Conversation with Marc Pope, Community Program Manager
Marc Pope recently joined the BNMC team as Community Program Manager, a newly created position. Marc will be responsible for overseeing programs that benefit local residents and community engagement initiatives. He will focus on programs designed to promote economic opportunity, including local hiring and purchasing, health and wellness and the Neighborhood Solar Partnership.
How does your varied background working in customer service and the political world intersect with your new position at the BNMC?
As Senator Tim Kennedy’s community liaison, I worked with many community stakeholder groups and had the opportunity to learn and listen so I think that experience will be very beneficial for my work with the BNMC. I have had a chance to get to know many residents in the neighborhoods around the Campus through my work with Senator Kennedy and other volunteer work. Because of that experience, I have a pretty good understanding of how the community views the Medical Campus and the issues that are important to them. I also think my experience working in the life safety industry and interacting with customers helped me understand how to work with varied audiences and most importantly, how to listen – skills that I believe will be important as I work to bring programs to our surrounding neighborhoods and to gain more understanding of the types of initiatives that are important to our closest communities.
What kinds of work will you do in this new role?
My role will be to help the BNMC team implement initiatives in the community and to help develop strategies to help move forward our community-based programs. Since I have strong relationships with our local elected officials and with community leaders and residents, I believe I can help move programs forward and help to promote them through channels that residents trust and rely on. I will specifically be working on economic opportunity initiatives that connect small businesses to the member institutions and that connect local residents to career opportunities on the Medical Campus.
As a native of Wilmington, Delaware and a relatively new transplant to Buffalo in 2014, what are your immediate impressions?
Buffalo’s rich history presents its greatest opportunities. There are lots of diverse neighborhoods and backgrounds that are celebrated like St. Patrick’s Day, Dyngus Day and Juneteenth that allow you to wp-contentreciate everyone’s heritage. I believe it’s important to continue to bring diverse communities together to build trust and continue Buffalo’s progress. From the arts to food, Buffalo’s cultural diversity is what unites communities. Having lived in cities like Wilmington and Philadelphia, I am excited to see the direction that Buffalo is heading in; making the city a sustainable place for everyone to live and work.
What attracted you to work at the BNMC?
I was interested primarily because I know the BNMC is doing a great job and I like the direction that it is headed. I want to continue to ensure that the community is aware of all of the positive things that are hwp-contentening here and the positive impact that it has on the overall community. I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue building relationships between the neighborhoods and the Campus for the benefit of both.
What else keeps you busy?
Despite leaving Senator Kennedy’s office, I still have a love for politics, particularly the strategy part of it and I expect I will find ways to get involved in upcoming campaigns. I also am an entrepreneur, providing graphic design and social media services, and an author of soon to be two books. I strive to balance my time well so that I make time for my wife and two children. When you spend a lot of time in the public, having quiet time away from the crowds can be really important.
