Campus employees, neighbors and families are invited to join us for the first-ever BNMC Summer Block Party in partnership with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, University at Buffalo and Kaleida Health on August 9th from 4:30-7:30 PM at Kaminski Park (Elm & Carlton)! This fun, family-friendly event is designed to bring nearby neighbors and those who work on the Campus together for food, kids activities, health and wellness information, live music provided by the Colored Musicians Club and the Kenny Hawkins All Star Band, and more.
Visit BNMC.org/blockparty for more information or download the flyer. See you there (rain or shine)!
Category: Employees
Save the Date! BNMC Summer Block Party on August 9th
Campus employees, neighbors and families are invited to join us for the first-ever BNMC Summer Block Party in partnership with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, University at Buffalo and Kaleida Health on August 9th from 4:30-7:30 PM at Kaminski Park (Elm & Carlton)! This fun, family-friendly event is designed to bring nearby neighbors and those who work on the Campus together for food, kids activities, health and wellness information, live music provided by the Colored Musicians Club and the Kenny Hawkins All Star Band, and more.
Visit BNMC.org/blockparty for more information or download the flyer. See you there (rain or shine)!
Meet Maddie: Neuroscience Major, Active Yogi & Roswell Employee
Meet Maddie: Neuroscience Major, Active Yogi & Roswell Employee
With any free wellness event on the Medical Campus, the goal for anyone who participates is to walk away healthier than they arrive, whether they are a Campus employee, patient, visitor, or member of the community. Every Wednesday during the Summer of 2017, Independent Health and the YMCA Fitness and the Parks Program hosts a free outdoor yoga class next to Buffalo General Medical Center in Colby Park. But there is something special about the instructor of this class who leads the way for campus employees and community members to get active outside – she is also a Roswell Park Cancer Institute employee. Meet Maddie.
A Western New York native, Maddie grew up in Clarence and always kept active – but not because she was a yogi. She was a cheerleader in high school and wasn’t introduced to yoga until attending her first year of college at Binghamton University in 2016. Just after taking one yoga class at BU – along with a can-do attitude and the help of an encouraging mentor – Maddie got certified in one semester. This involved taking a 2-credit course, completing textbook readings and homework, and learning yoga poses to earn her AFAA certification for teaching group classes – all in addition to her full course load as a dual major in Neuroscience and Spanish.
To keep up her newly acquired skills, she was encouraged to find a class to teach over the summer– a challenge since she already had plans to work at Roswell full-time maintaining the landscaping throughout the Roswell campus. Despite this, Maddie had inquired about teaching at the YMCA, and she not only landed a position with them to teach three times per week, but was assigned to teach yoga for Fitness in the Parks on the Medical Campus – without the YMCA even realizing she already worked there.
Maddie loves teaching yoga “because it benefits everyone, of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities,” and especially enjoys teaching the class outdoors on the Medical Campus. “The energy is just different being outside, people come to experience the sun, birds, breeze, and company of others… its naturally peaceful, and I love to see people change from the beginning of class when they are stressed to the end being relaxed.” Maddie teaches free yoga every Wednesday from 5:30-6:30pm in Colby Park, right next to the Michigan Goodrich Parking Garage at 134 High Street. Extra yoga mats and bottled water are available.
Beats & Bites on Thursdays at Lunchtime!
Beats & Bites on Thursdays at Lunchtime! |
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Join us for outdoor music provided by local bands, DJs and artists every Thursday at 12:30pm in the park at Ellicott & Virginia Streets. Purchase your lunch today from Ashker’s on-site, stop by the food trucks on Elm St. (outside Roswell Park) or bring your packed lunch and enjoy the beautiful summer weather in Buffalo! Plenty of tables & chairs available and lawn games including corn hole and KanJam. Beats & Bites Schedule: July 20th – Michael DiSanto July 27th – Live Jazz with Ellen Pieroni Quartet August 3rd – Rear View Ramblers August 10th – Black Rock Zydeco August 17th – Colored Musicians Club August 24th – African Drum Circle August 31st – End of summer lunch party with DJs and lawn games For a full list of Campus events, visit BNMC.org/events. |
BNMC Fit on Tuesday, June 27
Join us for BNMC Fit, our annual health & wellness fair on Tuesday, June 27 from 11:30am-1:30pm in Colby Park at Buffalo General Medical Center (next to the Michigan Goodrich parking garage at 134 High St.). More than 15 local vendors in the healthy & active living arena will be at the event, providing information, fun giveaways and opportunities to get fit. Some of the vendors committed so far include:
- Bike MS
- BNMC
- Farmers & Artisans
- Fleet Feet
- GObike Buffalo
- GO BNMC
- Jewish Community Center (JCC)
- Kaleida Health
- KeyBank
- Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP)
- Mental Health Association of Erie County
- Reddy Bikeshare
- Roswell Park Donor Center
- Thrive Nutrition & Wellness
- Tobacco Free WNY
- UB Clinical & Translational Research Institute (CTSI)
- UBMD Physicians’ Group
- Unyts
- Walsh Duffield
- Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo
Health in all its forms – economic, environmental, personal – are essential for any community to thrive. Since the BNMC began, our team has worked to promote active living and a focus on access to healthy food and BNMC Fit is a fun and festive event that brings together health leaders in our community and employees from across the Medical Campus. This event is free and open to all who work on the Campus. Rain or shine! Download flyer.
NFTA and BNMC Collaborate to Extend Bus Routes Directly to the Medical Campus
NFTA and BNMC Collaborate to Extend Bus Routes Directly to the Medical Campus
Added stops provide convenience for Medical Campus employees, visitors and patients
Buffalo, N.Y. June 15, 2017 – The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. (BNMC) and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) have announced the extension of two current bus routes that will drop and pick up riders directly on the Medical Campus Mondays through Fridays. Some trips for routes #14 Abbott and the #16 South Park, both traveling to and from South Buffalo, Lackawanna, Blasdell and Hamburg, will be extended to Carlton and Ellicott streets in the heart the Medical Campus beginning on June 19th. Both routes currently end at Mohawk and Ellicott Streets in downtown Buffalo.
The extended routes will allow riders from south of the city to access the Medical Campus without transferring to another bus, making the ride more convenient and direct. It will also allow those on and around the Medical Campus to directly access Solar City, ECC South, McKinley Mall and other points south of downtown. Park and ride lots at the beginning of both routes at McKinley Mall and at Erie Community College also offer access and convenience to the Medical Campus for residents in the Southtowns.
According to William Smith, Director of Access for the BNMC, Inc., “By partnering with the NFTA, we are finding new ways to provide more access to the Medical Campus without adding more cars to the neighborhood. This access, coupled with the Corporate Pass Program offered through the NFTA, will help to make the commute to the Medical Campus more convenient, affordable and healthy for all.”
The Corporate Pass Program offers Medical Campus employees, a discounted monthly transit pass for $55, a savings of $20 from NFTA monthly passes. Employees can save even more because the passes are purchased with pre-tax dollar earnings.
Buffalo Common Council President and Ellicott District Common Council Member Darius G. Pridgen commented, “Since transportation can often be an impediment to jobs, we are delighted that commuters will have a more direct and convenient way to access jobs on the Medical Campus as well as to opportunities at Solar City and other employers south of the city. These types of changes can have a big impact of residents’ lives.”
“The NFTA is thrilled to partner with the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus,” said Kimberley A. Minkel, NFTA Executive Director. “We are tremendously proud to be able to support the BNMC by providing this enhanced bus service that will serve employees, patients and visitors of BNMC.”
Through its GOBNMC program, the BNMC works with several transportation partners to develop strategies and programs designed to address the rapid growth of the Medical Campus community and to provide alternative transportation options including transit, bicycling, walking, car share and other programs. For more information regarding these programs go to www.GOBNMC.ORG. The NFTA is proud to provide 8 routes at the BNMC.
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:
Susan Kirkpatrick, BNMC Inc. skirkpatrick@bnmc-old.local
716.866.8002(m)
Join Us for Dump the Pump Day 2017
On Thursday, June 15, Citizens for Regional Transit will be observing the 12th annual National Dump the Pump Day.
To spread information about public transit as well as other options such as biking, walking, and carpooling, CRT will join several local organizations in hosting Dump the Pump Day information tables:
- Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is at Allen/Medical Campus Station, 7:00 – 10:00 a.m., with coffee and street musicians
- Go Buffalo-Niagara/the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council is at Lafayette Square Station, 7:00 – 10:00 a.m., with breakfast, literature, and stickers
- GO bike Buffalo is at Hostel Buffalo Niagara, 667 Main Street, 7:00 – 10:00 a.m., on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, with breakfast followed by a ride
- Citizens for Regional Transit is at Church Street Station, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., with literature and maps.
Stop by at any of these events for more information about transportation alternatives. Sign the pledge to dump the pump on June 15 and do good for the environment, your budget, personal health, schedule, and regional traffic: https://goo.gl/DDJDTA.
Watch video to learn more.
Taking Transit FAQ
New to transit and not quite sure how to navigate the train or bus system? Let us help you with some answers to your questions!
How reliable are the trains & buses?
Very! During the morning and evening commute time, trains run wp-contentroximately every ten minutes. Bus times can vary so check metro.nfta.com for specific schedules. The NFTA has a number of commuting tools at http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/AppCenter.aspx to help you plan your ride!
Which station is closest to my house?
That depends on where you live! Visit www.gobnmc-old.local or call Thea at 716-218-7805 for help determining your quickest and easiest mode.
How crowded is the train? Will I be able to sit down?
Crowd density varies based on the time of day and when there is a major event downtown, however getting a seat on most rides is not a problem.
Is it safe?
Yes – NFTA Metro public safety patrol the trains and stations regularly.
Will I find a parking space easily at the Park & Ride?
Yes. There are two dedicated Park & Ride lots for transit at University and the LaSalle Station. Parking is easy and convenient. There are also a number of Park & Ride lots that serve bus routes and that can be found at metro.nfta.com. Up to two bikes are allowed on individual train cars and select buses if you want to avoid driving to a station. Passengers with bikes are asked to move to the front or back of the train and stay with the bike throughout the trip. Bike racks are available for bus riders on select buses.
What about payment? Where do I put my ticket/pass?
If you’re commuting to work, take advantage of the NFTA’s new corporate pass program, which reduces the cost by at least $20. More information on that can be found here.
Individual transit tickets can be purchased at ticketing vending machines in all Metro stations and a standard ticket is $2 per ride. Cash or credit cards can be used at the vending machines and paper money, coins and fare cards can be used on buses. Exact fare is necessary for bus trips and payment is required upon boarding. Passes and individual tickets can also be purchased online at metro.nfta.com. You may or may not be asked for your ticket once on the train, but be advised that any passengers who do not have a ticket can be fined up to $30. More details on riding metro trains and buses available at metro.nfta.com.
Takeaways from CleanMed Conference
Ever wonder what your doctor eats for lunch? If they were one of the 800 professionals attending the CleanMed conference in Minneapolis this year, they probably ate a locally grown organic vegan meal using biodegradable plates and utensils – without thinking twice about missing out on meat and potatoes.
This year two members of the BNMC team, Jonathan McNeice and Beth Machnica, attended the CleanMed conference to advance their efforts in the BNMC Farm To Hospital Initiative. With 1.5 million patients and visitors annually at the Medial Campus each year, and even more coming with the opening of the UB Medical School and Oshei Children’s Hospital, having healthy food options on campus is a must. But CleanMed is about more than healthy food.
If you think about it, large institutions such as hospitals in many communities are the largest provider of healthcare, purchaser of goods, and employer of the local workforce. They also are typically the largest user of chemicals. As Gary Cohen, Co-Founder and President of Healthcare Without Harm stated at the conference, “Healthcare is decreasing its impact on people by making them more sick through the environment. If we embed environmental health into social strategy and healthcare we wouldn’t have disease tribes around the country – learning disability societies, cancer societies, diabetes societies, or constantly talking about ‘the cure,’ instead we’d be talking about prevention. “
With such power to impact the surrounding communities and environment, hospitals are critical players in taking the lead on healing people instead of polluting people. At one of the seminars the BNMC team attended, the speaker referred to “frogs on Prozac” in reference to medications going into the water system since clinical staff were trained to dispose of expired meds that way in the past. It represents the structural issues present in our current system, and is an example of the types of things that need to change. With the United States spending the greatest portion of its money on healthcare, and having the worst health outcomes of the top 50 industrialized countries in the world, we’re not very efficient when it comes to health.
The BNMC team is working on a series of sustainability initiatives on the medical campus – piloting a composting program in the Innovation Center, working on a Farm to Hospital Initiative with Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Kaleida, implementing a Community Supported Agriculture Program with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and a Farm-to-Work program at the Innovation Center. Stay tuned for additional updates on the blog!
~The 2017 Clean Med conference was the fourteenth convening held in the United States, and the eighteenth held globally. It is an annual conference put on by the nonprofits HealthCare Without Harm and Practice GreenHealth and has an international reputation for being the premier conference on environmental sustainability in the healthcare sector.~
BNMC Kicks off “100 Days of Summer”!
As a Medical Campus, we strive to be a leader in promoting healthy, active living in our community. While people tend to think of this as a place to treat illness, we are actively engaged in creating a culture of health and wellness on our Campus and throughout our community.
This summer is a great opportunity to get active and engaged on the Medical Campus! With a different activity going on every day, there’s no shortage of fun and healthy events to participate in.
Walking on Wednesdays: The BNMC, in partnership with the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo, offers free walks led by Campus and community leaders every Wednesday from May 31-August 30. Walks are 12:10-12:40 PM and start & end at Roswell’s Kaminski Park (Elm & Carlton). Visit our website for a full list of walk leaders & routes in June.
Farmers’ Markets: Fresh, homegrown fruits & veggies are available at farmers’ markets in many locations on the Campus and in our surrounding communities.
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Market at the Park in Kaminski Park (Elm & Carlton) will be on Wednesdays at 11 AM-1:30 PM from June-September.
- MAP Mobile Market at the Moot Community Center (292 High St.) will be on Fridays at 11 AM-1 PM from June-October.
- Downtown Country Market hosted by Buffalo Place on Main St. between Court & Church is on Tuesday & Thursday from 10 AM-2:30 PM from May-October.
BNMC Fit: Join us on Tuesday, June 27 for our annual BNMC Fit wellness fair at Colby Park (next to the MiGo parking garage at 134 High St.)! This event is free and open to all employees who work on the Medical Campus and includes a variety of healthy & active living vendors.
Fitness in the Parks: Beginning June 8 and running through August 23, free yoga will be offered every Wednesday at 5:30 PM in Colby Park (next to the MiGo parking garage at 134 High St.) This program is sponsored by Independent Health & YMCA Buffalo Niagara.
Free Lunchtime Music: Enjoy lunch and music outdoors with your colleagues in the pocket park at Ellicott & Virginia Streets every Thursday at 12:30 PM in July. Stay tuned for the schedule!
As you can see, we have lots of fun events and programming planned for this summer. We hope you’ll join us at our upcoming events. Hwp-contenty summer!
Join Our Bike Trains and Bike to Work Breakfast with Your Neighbors on May 19th!
In an effort to encourage more people to try biking as a commuting option and to participate in Bike to Work Day on May 19, local commuters will have the opportunity to join “Bike Trains” to ride to work on the Medical Campus with a group instead of on their own.
The BNMC, in collaboration with GObike Buffalo, have designated four meeting locations for interested bicyclists to meet and ride a designated route with experienced riders in time to join the Bike to Work Day breakfast to be held on the Medical Campus on Friday, May 19th.
Where are the trains starting from?
- MLK Park at 7:45 am with Henry Raess, GObike Buffalo Event Manager
- LaSalle Station at 8:00 am with Bill Smith, Director of Access for Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
- City Hall at 8:15 am with Justin Booth, Director of GObike Buffalo
- Ferry and Richmond Avenue at 8:15 am with Jen White, Executive of Reddy Bikeshare
How do I participate?
Sign up at bit.ly/2paStPz and meet your group between 7:30 am and 8:30 am on the morning of May 19.
What if I don’t have a bike?
Riders can bring their own bikes or take advantage of the Reddy Bikes that will be available at each meet up location.
I’ve never commuted by bike, is that okay?
The bike trains are intended to encourage less experienced riders to try commuting by bike with others and to create a sense of camaraderie on Bike to Work Day.
What hwp-contentens at the breakfast?
The Bike to Work Day celebration will include a light breakfast, bike portraits, and short celebration at the pocket park located at Ellicott Street and North Oak Street on the Medical Campus beginning at 7:00 AM. GObike Buffalo will provide free minor bike repairs and adjustments for riders on site. Bike storage is available across the street at North Oak and Ellicott or at the many bike racks throughout Campus. Medical Campus employees are also eligible for free Reddy Bike share memberships and can sign up by emailing gobnmc@bnmc-old.local.
Bike to Work Day is just one of many Bike Month events and activities to celebrate and encourage biking. A full list of activities can be found at www.gobikebuffalo.org.
May 6th Student Open House Recap
Our 3rd Annual Student Open House, powered by AT&T, was filled with hands-on activities at every location on the Medical Campus! Students were able to see 3D printers in action, try out robotic surgery, learn about chemical reactors, test new and innovative technologies and more. We thank all of our partners that participated in the event, including UB’s NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, UB’s NYS Center of Materials Informatics, UB’s Center for Computational Research, Kaleida Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Jacobs Institute, Buffalo Manufacturing Works, Unyts and 43North.
View the event photo album on Facebook.
Editorial: Forward-looking Medical Campus is working on parking crunch
Editorial: Forward-looking Medical Campus is working on parking crunch
Credit is due to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus for encouraging employees to use greener and healthier means of getting to and from work by taking advantage of public transportation and pedal power.
It is a good strategy for easing the parking crunch that will only get worse with thousands more workers about to join the workforce. And it will help those employees and medical school students develop lifelong habits that will benefit themselves and the environment.
The grounds of the Medical Campus have been bustling. Gates Vascular Institute and the University at Buffalo’s Clinical and Translational Research Center opened in 2012. Conventus Medical Office Building and Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Clinical Sciences Center opened within the past year.
The John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital and the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are scheduled to open by the end of the year.
Credit is due to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus for encouraging employees to use greener and healthier means of getting to and from work by taking advantage of public transportation and pedal power.
It is a good strategy for easing the parking crunch that will only get worse with thousands more workers about to join the workforce. And it will help those employees and medical school students develop lifelong habits that will benefit themselves and the environment.
The grounds of the Medical Campus have been bustling. Gates Vascular Institute and the University at Buffalo’s Clinical and Translational Research Center opened in 2012. Conventus Medical Office Building and Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Clinical Sciences Center opened within the past year.
The John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital and the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are scheduled to open by the end of the year.
There will be an astounding number of people in a relatively small space. It would be virtually impossible to create the parking infrastructure that would be needed if everyone drives to work.
Instead, the BNMC is taking a proactive wp-contentroach in getting its expected 15,000 employees to work each day. The nonprofit umbrella organization coordinates transportation and other neighborhood initiatives on the 120-acre Medical Campus.
Officials recently hired a new program manager, Thea Hassan, to work on neighborhood transportation initiatives. Hassan is trying to get folks out into the sunshine and fresh air by persuading them to bicycle to work.
For those concerned about which route to take or who want to brush up on the rules of the road, Hassan is creating the Bike Sherpa. It’s an ingenious buddy system designed to ease the nervousness beginners might feel about a bicycle commute.
GoBike Buffalo and Reddy Bikeshare have been an integral part of the effort to replace pushing the gas pedal with pushing the bike pedals. Reddy Bikeshare had more than a half-dozen rental bikes on campus last year. This year a second station on the Medical Campus is being added, bringing the total to 200 bikes at 35 stations throughout the city. The bikes rent by the hour or through a yearly $55 membership. There will be a free trial membership to encourage employees to bike to work.
The Bike Sherpa service would be available once every few weeks for a limited time and is free and open to Medical Campus employees.
The nonprofit will also work to make it easier for commuters who want to use Metro Rail. The newly renovated Allen-Medical Campus Station is inside UB’s new medical school building, making it very convenient for workers, students and visitors. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is providing even more incentive to take public transportation with a six-month trial of a corporate discount program that could cut the cost of a $75 monthly pass to as low as $38.50 for some bus and rail commuters.
Parking crunches are signs of the growing importance of the Medical Campus. Plans to ease them show forward thinking.
Medical Campus grows to more than 150 companies
The number of companies on the 120-acre Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has grown to more than 150, according to the nonprofit organization that oversees the campus.
In 2002, when the campus was in its infancy, there were three companies.
Companies counted by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Inc. include those located in its entrepreneurial hub; University at Buffalo’s Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; UB Gateway; Hauptman-Woodward Research Institute; Conventus; 73 High St. and 847 Main St. It also includes services providers and tenants that have offices within one of the buildings on campus but may be headquartered elsewhere.
The campus is a diverse mix of companies and not solely focused on health care and life sciences. Social impact and technological-based companies also are on the uptick, along with a major push of those interested in starting or growing a business.
[PHOTO GALLERY: UB’s downtown medical school nears completion]
The number of people working on the Medical Campus will expand this fall when UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences opens to faculty and then in January to students. Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo operations will move to the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in November.
The state recently awarded $625,000 to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to expand its business development program. In the past year, there has been $750 million of investment and 700 construction workers on the campus, according to Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Inc.
BNMC Sees Explosive Growth
In recent years – the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has become “the place to be” for entrepreneurs and new companies.
In just three years, the number of businesses on the Medical Campus increased 300%.
“Going in to 2013 we had about 40 companies that were located here in the Innovation Center. And at the close of 2016 we’re supporting a little over 120 companies across the Medical Campus,” said Vic Nole, the BNMC’s Director of Business Development.
Nole says, they’re not all involved in healthcare or life sciences either. There’s a diverse mix of companies.
“We’ve got quite a bit of technology, we’ve got a little bit of manufacturing. We have some social impact entrepreneurs,” Nole said.
There’s even some retail and a few artists. Nole says the strategy is to have an open door and bring in anyone who has an interest in starting or growing a business. The state recently designated the BNMC’s Innovation Center as a certified business incubator.
“So in the Innovation Center we’ve really been successful in creating a self-contained little ecosystem. And then our intent is to get them scaling to a point where we can transplant them in to the community and they can continue to grow and create new jobs for Buffalo,” Nole said.
The state recently awarded the BNMC $625,000 to expand its business development program.
Welcome New Children’s Hospital Employees!
Earlier this month, the first round of employees from Children’s Hospital Outpatient Center settled in their new offices on the third floor of the Conventus building at 1001 Main St. located on the northern end of Campus. We’re thrilled to share that both patients and staff had “a remarkable response to the new space and facility,” commenting on how inviting, safe and accessible it is.
The move will occur in several stages throughout 2017, with more clinics moving in April and then a final round of employees coming over in October. The opening of Children’s Hospital and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will lead to nearly 15,000 people working and learning on the Medical Campus within the next year.
BNMC Launches New GO BNMC Website
Get Going in 2017 with GO BNMC
With 2017 upon us, the BNMC is rolling out several exciting tools with employees in mind. The front of these changes is a new GO BNMC website where employees who work on the Medical Campus can learn more about our program that encourages smart and healthy commuting options; get introduced to the carshare and rideshare options and discounts available; and sign up for your parking pass with ease. Let’s celebrate a healthy lifestyle this year, starting with taking a deeper dive into all that the GO BNMC program has to offer!
Local Small Businesses Interested in Providing Goods and Services to Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Institutions Sought for Business Enterprise Fair
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2016
For more information, contact:
Susan Kirkpatrick, BNMC Inc. skirkpatrick@bnmc-old.local
716.566.2339/716.866.8002(m)
Local Small Businesses Interested in Providing Goods and Services to Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Institutions Sought for Business Enterprise Fair
Event to Connect Local Vendors with Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
Institution Purchasers with a focus on Minority, Women and Veteran-owned business
Buffalo, N.Y., September 2, 2016 – Local small businesses interested in doing business with institutions and businesses on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus are encouraged to participate in the Business Enterprise Fair to be held on September 20 at UB’s Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Center on the Medical Campus.
The Business Enterprise Fair will provide an in-person forum to connect local vendors, particularly minority, women and veteran business owners, with those who make purchasing decisions for organizations based on and around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Purchasers include the City of Buffalo, University at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Kaleida Health, and more.
The event is free to small businesses and will provide an opportunity to highlight products and services and to make personal connections with purchasers from the major Campus institutions. A previous Business Enterprise Fair held in late 2014 resulted in a number of new relationships and business opportunities for local vendors.
Vendors must commit to participating from 1 pm – 5 pm on Tuesday, September 20 and will be provided a table to display information. Free parking will be available at the Gateway Building at 77 Goodell Street and at the parking lot at 589 Ellicott Street across from the Innovation Center.
The Business Enterprise Fair is hosted by BNMC Works, a collaboration of BNMC institutions including the University at Buffalo, Kaleida Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the BNMC, Inc, in partnership with the City of Buffalo and the Small Business Association. The mission of BNMC Works is to increase employment of local residents and to increase the purchase of goods and services from local suppliers by organizations located on the Medical Campus.
To learn more and sign up for the Business Enterprise Fair, go to www.bnmcworksvendorfair.eventbrite.com.
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Offers “Walking on Wednesdays”
MEDIA ADVISORY
CONTACT: Susan Kirkpatrick
skirkpatrick@bnmc-old.local/716-866-8002
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Offers “Walking on Wednesdays”
Free guided tours offer lunchtime exercise and an insider’s guide to the growing Medical Campus
What: “Walking on Wednesdays” (W.O.W.) is a series of free guided tours of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in Downtown Buffalo every Wednesday throughout the summer in partnership with The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo. A representative from the Wellness Institute will guide the tours each week in conjunction with a guest tour guide from the Medical Campus.
When: Each Wednesday at 12:10 PM – 12:40 PM. June 1 through August 31, 2016. Rain or Shine!
Where: All Walks begin and end at Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Kaminski Park, located at Carlton and Elm Streets. A weekly Farmers Market is also offered there between 11 AM – 2 PM on Wednesdays!
Who: The Walks are ideal for employees on the Medical Campus, as well as for visitors and the interested public and will be led by a variety of guest tour guides. June guides and topics include:
June 1 – Mark McGovern, BNMC’s Senior Project Manager/Construction Update
June 8 – Justin Booth, GObike Buffalo’s Executive Director/Biking infrastructure along Main Street
June 15 – Matt Enstice, BNMC’s President & CEO along with Tom Beecher, Chair Emeritus/Medical Campus history and progress
June 22 – Craig Coyne, Senior Planner at Roswell Park Cancer Institute/RPCI’s new Clinical Sciences Center
June 29 – Ekua Mends-Aidoo & Sarah Warner, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus/Neighborhood Explorer program overview
Coordinated by the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo and sponsored by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.
Why: Add to your “step count”
Get a break from your workplace
Refresh your spirit
Enjoy the fresh air and Buffalo’s beautiful summer weather
Learn more about the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
Learn more: Visit bnmc-old.local/wow
About: 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. bnmc-old.local.
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“Tunes in the Tent” Resumes on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus July 7
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/July 5, 2016
For more information, contact: Susan Kirkpatrick, skirkpatrick@bnmc-old.local
MEDIA ALERT & PHOTO OP
“Tunes in the Tent” Resumes on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus July 7
BNMC Presents Free Lunch Time Concert Series Featuring Local Musicians Employed
on the Medical Campus
What: The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. will resume “Tunes in the Tent,” its popular lunchtime concert series, each Thursday at noon in the heart of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The 6-week concert series will feature local bands, all of which include at least one Medical Campus employee. The free concert is open to the public and all are encouraged to grab lunch and enjoy these talented employees and other local musicians performing original music and popular favorites every Thursday this summer!
Where: At the corner of Ellicott and Virginia Streets on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, (across from Hauptman Woodward Institute at 700 Ellicott Street)
When: Every Thursday at noon, beginning July 7th and running through August 11th
Who: Medical Campus employees, visitors and any one who lives or works near the Medical Campus is invited to join the fun! All are encouraged to bring lunch or take advantage of local food trucks that will offer lunch options on-site to enjoy with the tunes!
Line Up: The Larkin Plan/July 7
The Wilde’s/July 14
Rick Jameson/July 21
Ten Cent Howl/July 28
Nelson Rivera & Jazz Conception/August 4
Theresa Quinn Trio/August 11
Visit Facebook.com/BNMCSummer to stay up to date on all upcoming events!
About the BNMC
The 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 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. bnmc-old.local.
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Tyno Recognized by City & State Reports for Corporate Social Responsibility
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Kirkpatrick
716-866-8002
Tyno Recognized by City & State Reports for Corporate Social Responsibility
Work on Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Cited
Buffalo, N.Y., June 30, 2016 – City & State Reports, the only media company devoted solely to covering government and politics in New York, has recently honored Paul Tyno, Strategic Advisor for Energy on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc., with the Corporate Social Responsibility Award in Tech, Energy and Utilities. Tyno will receive the award at a ceremony in New York City at New York Law School on June 30th.
Tyno is one of a number of honorees from across the state that has been recognized as an outstanding corporate citizen from New York’s tech, energy and utility sector. Tyno’s work in leading energy initiatives on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, most notably in designing a new model encouraging the use of solar power in an underserved neighborhood adjacent to campus, and in leading the feasibility and design phases of a potential micro-grid for the Medical Campus were factors in the award. Tyno is the immediate past Chairperson of the Peak Load Management Alliance.
The event will feature remarks by Andrew Rasiej, Chair, NY Tech Meetup, and will be hosted by Libby Wayman, Global Director, Ecomagination at GE. The breakfast event will also feature a thought leadership breakfast discussion on social responsibility in the tech industry today.
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. bnmc-old.local.
City Officials Announce Tentative Agreement re: Long-Term Lease of Ellicott Goodrich Garage
Mayor Brown and Council President Pridgen have announced a tentative agreement between the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus for a long-term lease of the Ellicott Goodrich Garage which, if passed, would allow the BNMC to build a new parking garage on that site which is adjacent to the Buffalo General Medical Center, Gates Vascular Institute/CTRC, and the Oishei Children’s Hospital and Jacobs School of Medicine (both currently under construction). This would add parking for patients, visitors, and employees to the current transportation system.
Where will the displaced parkers be temporarily located during demo/construction?
Parking occupancy overall the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is currently at 70 percent, meaning we have ample additional parking to accommodate those who currently park at the Ellicott Goodrich Garage (EGG) in other locations. We have space in the Michigan Goodrich Garage (MiGo) to temporarily accommodate the parking needs of patients and visitors who are currently parking in the EGG. The MiGo is located on the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and High Street, directly adjacent to the Buffalo General Medical Center (BGMC) and the Gates Vascular Institute (GVI), and provides relatively easy access via walking or shuttle to and from the hospital facilities.
The BNMC Transportation and Parking Project Management Group (including staff from the BNMC, Kaleida Health, UB, and Roswell Park) have been working diligently on a strategy to ensure that that all patients and visitors can easily be relocated to the MiGo, as the garage was built with this additional capacity during reconstruction in mind. Kaleida and BNMC will also operate a complimentary and wheel-chair accessible shuttle service to safely and efficiently move patients and visitors between the MiGo and BGMC/GVI main entrances. Valet services will also be enhanced at both the GVI and BGMC entrances to accommodate an anticipated increase in valet traffic.
No existing MiGo parkers will be displaced from the garage, although employees will be asked not to park on those levels reserved for patients and visitors.
How are you mitigating additional employees parking in the neighborhoods during this time?
We do not expect any of the temporarily displaced parkers from the EGG to park in the Fruit Belt and/or Allentown neighborhoods. The vast majority of people who park in the EGG are patients and visitors of BGMC and GVI. We will continue to direct them to first-class valet services at the main hospital entrances as well as parking and shuttle options in the MiGo. In addition, the relatively low number of employee permit holders who currently park in the EGG will also be given access to the MiGo.
The BNMC continues to work to mitigate the impact of employee parking in the Fruit Belt. The BNMC and our partners are also in the midst of a Parking Study funded by the NYS Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) and NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to help inform legislation and develop a model residential parking program in the Fruit Belt neighborhood. We are currently in the data collection phase of the Parking Study, working with Fruit Belt residents, institutional partners, and local elected officials to assess current employee parking behaviors and surveying residents to determine their unique parking challenges and needs. The BNMC staff hosted several events and went door-to-door to survey residents, churches and business owners; we expect to have results to share by November 2015.
How will this new garage fit into the BNMC’s overall parking strategy?
This new garage provides a dramatic increase in convenient parking and improved customer service for the growing number of patients, visitors, and employees on the Medical Campus, in particular within the Buffalo General Medical Center, Gates Vascular Institute, the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. As a quickly growing Medical Campus in a dense and urban area, there is a critical need to ensure ample parking for patients and visitors while at the same time ensuring safe, efficient and sustainable transportation access for employees, students and neighborhood residents alike.
What is the timing for garage construction?
Demolition of the current EGG and construction of the new garage is expected to take 18-21 months depending on start date. The parking facility is expected to be partially occupied in May 2017 and fully constructed by November 2017. The contract will include MWBE construction goals.
How many spaces will this add to the BNMC parking system, and is it enough to accommodate the expected growth in the number of employees?
The EGG will expand from its current 892 parking spaces to just over 1,800 spaces. We are also in the process of acquiring additional off-Campus parking which will provide a modest increase to our overall parking inventory. It is the BNMC’s mission to work with our partners to develop a wide array of parking and transportation options to accommodate nearly all commuting needs for the entire BNMC population.
Currently, BNMC, with the assistance of its Transportation Project Management Group, has been exploring a number of nearby satellite parking options, including those on the NFTA Metro Rail line to the north and south.
In addition, we continue to work with our regional partners to manage and grow the GO BNMC commuter toolkit, an innovative program designed to provide employees with better access to healthier, greener and affordable transportation options.
Has GO BNMC been successful?
Yes, over the past three years we have developed several programs that have successfully encouraged drive-alone commuters to consider changing over to alternative modes of transportation (e.g. transit, carpool, biking, and walking). This includes incentive programs, educating employees about their options, and providing infrastructure improvements for safer and more efficient travel modes. Since launching GO BNMC, we have seen a 4% reduction in the number of employees driving alone to the Medical Campus. Moving forward, we are also seeing an increase in housing options in the downtown area, in the surrounding neighborhoods, and along the Metro Rail line. BNMC and partners are also working to create programs to encourage employees to live in these areas, which provide greater access to these alternative commuting modes and, in turn, dampen our on-campus parking demands.
BNMC Fit
This year’s BNMC Fit event will feature health enhancing activities, raffle prizes and giveaways.
Don’t miss this fun event on Thursday, August 20, 2015. All BNMC employees and neighboring community members are encouraged to attend.
The purpose of the BNMC Fit event is to motivate, inform, and empower employees by offering knowledge and support of eating healthy, active living, and making small steps towards success in building a healthy future. The event will feature displays and demonstrations related to fun and active exercise options as well as demonstrations related to bike and pedestrian safety and education and transportation demos.
The event is scheduled to between the hours of 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with an intended audience of 1000 employees from our nine member institutions.
BNMC Statement in Support of Parking Permit Legislation for Fruit Belt Residents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2015
BNMC Statement in Support of Parking Permit Legislation for Fruit Belt Residents
The BNMC, the not-for-profit organization formed to address shared issues among institutions on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and our adjacent neighborhoods, strongly supports legislation proposed by State Senator Tim Kennedy and Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes and supported by Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen, that would ensure that Fruit Belt residents have access to parking in their neighborhood through a new parking permit system designed specifically for the Fruit Belt.
We are very cognizant of the fact that as the Medical Campus grows, the need for an adequate parking and transportation system for local residents, employees, patients, and visitors will continue to grow as well. We have been working diligently with a number of local stakeholders including our neighbors, the Medical Campus institutions, the NFTA, Department of Transportation and the City of Buffalo to develop overall strategies and programs to address parking and transportation needs, including providing various parking options, enhancing and creating new alternative modes of transportation, and programs aimed at incentivizing use of carpooling, public transit, biking, and walking.
The BNMC, working closely with nearby residents and local elected officials, has secured funding from NYSERDA/NYSDOT to facilitate the planning and implementation of a residential parking benefits district that will effectively manage the on-street parking supply and demand as well as improve the access, mobility and quality of life of Fruit Belt residents.
For the Medical Campus to be successful, we must consider the needs of our adjacent neighborhoods as well as the needs of the employees, patients, and visitors. We believe this legislation will help to ease the current situation that often leaves local residents with few options for parking near their homes. We wp-contentlaud the work of Senator Kennedy and Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes and the rest of the Western New York delegation, as well as Councilmember Pridgen, and urge the New York State Legislature to pass this legislation.
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