Lomeo to keep reins at ECMC
Interim CEO draws enthusiastic support
Jody L. Lomeo, the interim chief executive officer of Erie County Medical Center, is staying on to head the medical center.
Lomeo had said he was not interested in the job, but members of the hospital’s board of directors said they persuaded him to take the position because of his knowledge of the ongoing consolidation efforts with Kaleida Health.
“After all the semifinalist interviews, we felt that Jody’s experience, the respect and trust he earned from our other health care provider partners, county and university leaders, and the achievements he realized in the last five months singled him out as the best-possible person for the job that needs doing today,” said Kevin Cichocki, board and search committee chairman.
Lomeo was named interim chief executive in July, replacing Michael A. Young, who accepted a job as chief executive of Atlanta’s public hospital, Grady Memorial.
Lomeo, 40, a financial consultant and former chairman of ECMC’s board of directors, led the search that in 2004 installed Young as ECMC’s CEO.
The latest executive search yielded six semifinalists, including four from outside Buffalo and Mark C. Barabas, ECMC’s president and chief operating officer. Barabas agreed to continue in those positions responsible for day-to-day operations.
Young is credited with improving ECMC’s finances and piloting the 550-bed hospital through its first years as a stand-alone public corporation with looser ties to the county.
He also led the medical center through an arduous journey to strike an agreement with Kaleida Health that complied with an order from the state’s Berger Commission for the organizations to form a unified, nonpublic entity that includes the University at Buffalo.
But Young’s tenure was marked by tension and hard feelings with other officials involved with the hospital consolidation. Even with the agreement reached in June, it was unclear how the hospitals would collaborate on reorganizing their facilities and staffs.
Lomeo is credited with making it a priority to rebuild relationships with UB, Kaleida and the new parent organization, Great Lakes Health.
The announcement of his appointment reflected this, for it brought out a “Who’s Who” of key players in the consolidation, including UB President John Simpson, County Executive Chris Collins, Supreme Court Justice John M. Curran, Joan Bender, head of the county’s largest union, Local 815 of the Civil Service Employees Association, and physician leaders at the medical center.
Lomeo also helped himself immensely by leading the final negotiations that resulted in the recent contract with ECMC’s nurses, represented by the Western Region District of the New York State Nurses Association. The agreement brought salaries up to competitive levels but gave the hospital significant concessions over costly retiree health insurance benefits.
The rising cost of retiree health care at ECMC has been a key stumbling block to working more closely with Kaleida Health and to Great Lakes Health investing in expanded programs at the medical center.
“Jody got results that defied everyone’s expectations, when he was supposedly only an interim caretaker,” said Sharon Hanson, ECMC’s board vice chairwoman and a search committee member.
Lomeo said the consolidation offers the region a much-needed chance to improve the quality of some of its major hospitals, as well as UB’s medical school teaching program. However, he stressed that difficult decisions lie ahead about how to reorganize services across ECMC’s and Kaleida’s facilities; negotiate pacts with the hospital’s largest unions; and stabilize the medical center’s financial ties to the county.
“I would not take this position if I didn’t feel the stars are lining up and we can make real progress in reforming health care delivery in Western New York,” he said.
Four of the five chief executives at ECMC over the last 15 years came in with limited experience as a hospital executive.
In this case, officials defended the selection of Lomeo on a number of grounds — his ability to gain the trust of the people he needs to work with, the desire for continuity amid the complex hospital consolidation, and their confidence in his working relationship with Barabas.
“It’s a matter of the right person at the right time,” said Hanson.
Lomeo was appointed to the ECMC board by former County Executive Joel A. Giambra in 2001. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University at Buffalo after two years at Fordham University.
He lives in East Amherst with his wife, Mary, and their three sons.
Lomeo will receive a three-year contract with a salary just under $400,000 annually, but with a potential performance-based bonus.
Robert Gioia, board chairman of Great Lakes Health, and James Kaskie, chief executive officer of Kaleida and Great Lakes Health, both praised the choice.
“Jody stands out as a bridge builder,” Kaskie said.
Barabas, 55, has more than 20 years experience as a health care executive. Before coming to ECMC in 2007, he was chief executive officer of Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton, Pa., for three years, and chief operating officer there from 2000 to 2003.
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