Buffalo, once widely known as the “Queen City” (second largest city in NYS), has now become infamous for being the queen of the “Rust Belt”, a strip of Northeastern US cities that suffered acute economic decline in the post-industrial age. Buffalo, along with other Rust Belt cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, has experienced widespread decreases in population and mean household income. As Buffalo’s once-booming Bethlehem Steel factories rust next to the underdeveloped waterfront, our city becomes, sadly, a prime example of modern urban decay.
But that may all change with the growth and development of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC), a consortium of major hospitals, schools, and research institutions covering 120 acres downtown. Millions have been invested in this area, and healthcare is the fastest growing job sector in Buffalo. The BNMC includes Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo General Hospital, the University at Buffalo’s Clinical and Translational Research Center, the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, and the Gates Vascular Institute. By 2016, an estimated 5,000 new jobs will be created on campus. The BNMC is a hot spot for new building projects, including Kaleida Health’s new Women & Children’s Hospital, a $250 million, 10-story, 250,000 square foot facility to be completed by 2015, UB’s $375 million new medical school to be completed by 2016, a $50 million expansion of Roswell Park, a new Catholic Health system headquarters, and more.
After years of economic stagnation, Buffalo is finally trading in the steel industry for the health industry. All of these new construction projects have already begun and will offer high tech, career-oriented jobs to area residents. For too long, we’ve been confronted by the idea that Buffalo is a dying city with a shrinking population and even fewer opportunities. And that has been true for the greater part of these past years. But Buffalo may finally bounce back. The unprecedented expansion of the BNMC is not just a way to keep residents from moving out- it will also entice doctors, researchers, scientists, and innovators to move in. Roswell Park is the leading cancer research center in America. As BNMC expands, Buffalo itself may very well become a majorly renowned city for medical advancements and discovery.
And that’s good news for any high school students in the area interested in the scientific, biological, or medical fields. Roswell Park, Kaleida Health, and the Hauptman Woodward Institute already offer summer programs, volunteer opportunities, and internships to students. Most of these spots are highly contested and can be hard to come by. The addition of new buildings and facilities on the campus help students find even more ways to get involved in the medical field early on- a great way to gain experience and boost that ever-important college resume. And BNMC may even affect your college decisions. UB, Canisius, and other area schools with direct, close connection to such amazing research institutions and hospitals may start to look a lot more attractive to any students that want to go into medicine.
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is a major healthcare center right in Buffalo that will help revive the city, create jobs, and attract some great minds and talent to the area. From Rust Belt to research in biostatistics, Buffalo’s comeback is finally beginning.
by Melissa Li
