John M. Curran
Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center reached a historic agreement last year on how to combine their institutions.
There were many people who made it happen, but State Supreme Court Justice John M. Curran, who oversaw a legal case related to the deal, certainly stands out among them.
The agreement created a once-in-a- generation opportunity to remake Buffalo’s inefficient health care system, settled a lawsuit brought by ECMC against the state and preserved $65 million in state aid to close Kaleida’s Millard Fillmore Hospital on Gates Circle and to merge its operations into Buffalo General Hospital.
In the bigger picture, it also paved the way for long-sought changes in hospital care in the region.
The judge’s role was especially crucial, considering he had stepped into an acrimonious situation with groups that were at war with each other and that seemed headed for disaster.
But Curran encouraged mediation and, even after talks broke down, he pushed again and again for a resolution he and others believed was in the best interests of the community.
Like a diplomat, he shuttled from group to group during eight hours of negotiations that involved almost 60 people, including all of the hospitals’ key officials, County Executive Chris Collins, University at Buffalo President John Simpson, the leaders of the UB Medical School, a committee of physicians from ECMC and Kaleida Health and an array of lawyers.
In the end, the parties resolved key differences and found common ground.
“This is the most complex thing I have ever been involved with,” Curran said at the time, adding that it also was the most rewarding thing he had ever done.
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