Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - For the second time in the past year, one of the major anchors of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is being rebranded following a major donation from one of the region's top business, civic and philanthropic leaders.
Scott Bieler and his wife, Kathy, through the Scott Bieler Family Foundation made a significant donation to Kaleida Health that will not only help finance major upgrades to its neurosurgery and cardiac units at Buffalo General Medical Center and its adjoining Gates Vascular Institute but also see Buffalo General, as of Jan. 1, become the Scott Bieler Buffalo General Medical Center.
At the request of Bieler, the amount of his donation is not being publicly disclosed.
"It felt right to me," Bieler said. "It was the right gift with the right organization at the right time."
The deal follows a $50 million donation that B. Thomas Golisano, Paychex founder and CEO made to Kaleida last year to have the Oishei Children's Hospital rebranded as the Golisano Children's Hospital.
Buffalo General and Golisano Children's Hospital neighbor each other in the medical campus.
Bieler is a big supporter of health care entities. He has been a major supporter of Roswell Park Comprehensive Care Center, where several of its buildings - both on the medical campus and , in Amherst, near his name.
Buffalo General, which is more than 170 years old, is Kaleida's flagship medical center.
Don Boyd, Kaleida CEO and president, called Bieler's donation "historic."
"It is a transformational gift," Boyd said,
Funds from the Bieler donation will help finance updated procedural labs at the GVI including ones that focus on cardiovascular, neurosurgery and interventional radiology.
Also being financed by the Bieler donation include new surgical visualization systems in 11 GVI operating rooms and a new Da Vinci surgical robot.
Buffalo General and the GVI handle more than 32,000 surgical procedures annually.
"This makes us poised to take the next step," said Dr. Adnan Siddiqui, vice chairman of the University at Buffalo Neurosurgery department.
The new equipment and surgery rooms will be upgraded during the next few months.
The Scott Bieler Buffalo General Medical Center is coming in January
The Scott Bieler Buffalo General Medical Center is coming in January
