Amidst the controversy surrounding a proposal to move of the pediatrics residency program at Children's Hospital of Buffalo from its Bryant Street location, the staff is finding difficulty in trying to maintain an atmosphere of normalcy.
"We don't have a lot of facts," said Rosanne Berger, associate professor of clinical family medicine and clinical pediatrics. "Uncertainty is the most stressful thing about this right now."
The recommendation to move Children's Hospital comes from the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Hunter Group, a healthcare consulting firm. Kaleida Health, owner of the hospital, has acted on that recommendation and is seriously considering moving the facility to either Millard Fillmore Gates Circle or Buffalo General Hospital, where pediatrics will occupy two floors in the existing structure.
According to Berger, the fear of unknown factors and the potential hindrance of service after the move, as well as the lack of communication between Kaleida and the hospital, is the main concern of the students and educators involved in the program. Most of the information received has been rumors.
"You have an institution that has served this community exceptionally well for a long period of time," said Michael Bernardino, UB vice president for health affairs and dean of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "The emotionalism on the side of the doctors can be attributed, in some way, to [Kaleida's] hesitancy to provide data."
Pediatric Residency Director Gerald Daigler's opinion, however, is that the stress of the situation should not cause the faculty to lower the quality of teaching currently provided to the students.
"Right now we have a job to do," said Daigler. "We cannot bring the chaos of the outside on our rounds. It is not acceptable for any decline in the teaching that we are providing. We have a job to do and that is our number one priority."
Both Berger and Daigler have been advising students that their priorities are to their patients, and to avoid getting involved with the politics surrounding the building.
"When the information first came out we sat down and talked with the students," Daigler said. "We told them to take all they hear with a grain of salt."
"There is no reason for [the students] to get directly involved in the political situation, we have people representing them and the staff in the decision making," he continued. "We assured them that when information of substance comes along, we will inform them."
In a field already starved for specialized pediatric physicians, administrators worry that the move could affect Children's ability to attract doctors. The hope of Children's staff and those opposed to the move is that the Kaleida board of directors will be able to reach an alternative solution.
"The plan that has been originally proposed is not even remotely close to being realistic, I can't conceive that it will go through as planned," said Daigler.
Bernardino anticipates that with the collaboration of doctors and directors, an agreement will be reached.
"It's clear that you can run a first-class pediatric program inside a hospital," said Bernardino. "Assuming that it is planned out-right, the pediatric residency program should not be impacted."
Although the move could affect the recruitment of new doctors and availability of services, Daigler is optimistic.
"If we plan out a solution right and have adequate equipment and facilities, the services alone should be able to attract faculty," he said.
