The rebirth of Buffalo continues with the completion of a new six-story, mixed-use building on the edge of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
Ellicott Development is near completion on the building, located at 1091 Main St. The building will offer approximately 167,000 square feet of retail and office space and will be connected to the former Our Lady of Lourdes Church via a two-story winter garden.
Anchoring the new building is General Physician, PC, which opened a regional medical center on the building’s third floor on Aug. 5.
Dr. Richard Charles, Chief Medical Officer for General Physician, sees the new site as a critical step in the efforts to deliver the best in accessible healthcare to residents of Buffalo.
“This new facility will help meet a critical need for residents living in the city of Buffalo – accessibility,” Charles said. “Too often, people living in urban settings struggle to find accessible healthcare options.”
Though General Physician had smaller primary care offices in the city, Charles says the size and scope of the new practice is significant.
“The rebirth of downtown Buffalo has led to a surge in millennials returning to the city to live and work. Having centrally located, easily accessible healthcare in the city is critical to meeting the needs of this diverse and growing population base.”
Charles said accessibility includes patients having access to multiple services under one roof. The new center will offer primary care, specialty care providers, nutritional, behavioral health, clinical pharmacy services, laboratory services and care management.
“The goal is to give our patients what they need, where they are,” he says. “By expanding our sub-specialty services in one location, we are ensuring our patients receive the best care possible.”
Another element of accessibility the new facility will provide is the ability to serve Buffalo’s growing Spanish-speaking population. Dr. Maritza Baez is one of the providers at the new center, and she is bilingual.
“Approximately 25 percent of my patients are Spanish-speaking, and they come to me specifically for that reason,” Dr. Baez said. “They want to feel comfortable speaking in their native language so they can express themselves and can understand their own health care.”
This is the latest in a series of openings and acquisitions for General Physician, PC. The organization has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years, more than doubling its number of providers to more than 240 in 60 offices throughout Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania.
Darryl Ernst, president of General Physician, PC, sees the new Buffalo office as an integral part of General Physician’s vision for the future of health care in Western New York.
“The tremendous growth we have experienced as an organization in recent years has been strategic and focused on delivering regional access and the best patient experience possible,” Ernst said. “This new space is intended to meet the needs of our patients as the way primary care services are delivered continues to evolve.”
To learn more about General Physician, PC, please visit their website at www.gppconline.com.
