BUFFALO, N.Y. (Monday, April 19, 2004) - Kaleida Health has named Christine O'Mara its new Corporate Director of Clinical Resource Management and Jeffrey Oskin as the Director of Hospital Operations for Buffalo General Hospital.

O'Mara will be responsible for the oversight of resource management, and contract initiatives as they relate to quality. Ms. O'Mara will also oversee analysis, planning, direction and coordination of improvement efforts to achieve clinical practice opportunities that she identifies with the physician leaders.

Most recently, Ms. O'Mara served as Director of Medical Management for Health Now of New York where she was responsible for the operational function of the Buffalo Division of Medical Management. This included oversight of care management, case management, claims, and regulatory affairs.

"In her career, Christine has established and maintained effective relationships with physicians and ancillary providers resulting in the accomplishment of utilization and quality management objectives," said Cynthia Ambres, MD, Kaleida Health's Chief Medical Officer. "We look forward to her bringing those best practices to Kaleida Health's clinical improvement initiatives."

Ms. O'Mara has over 25 years of health care experience. Prior to her role with Health Now, she spent 12 years with IPRO, a private organization that contracts with local governments to monitor, assess, measure and improve health care according to federal and state health department mandates.

Ms. O'Mara holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Buffalo and holds Certification for Professional Utilization Review. She is a resident of Buffalo's upper West Side neighborhood.

Oskin will be responsible for the departments of Security and Safety, Pastoral Care/Volunteer Services, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Environmental Services as well as Nutritional Services.

Oskin joins Kaleida Health after spending eight years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania where he was the Division Director of Patient Support Services. In that role, he oversaw patient services, emergency medical services, communications and environmental services.

"Jeff is experienced in building high performance teams that develop dynamic and creative ways of rendering services to patients and physicians," said Kevin P. Britt, President of Buffalo General Hospital. "He will be working closely with the hospital management team here to improve the overall patient experience."

Oskin holds an MBA from Waynesburg College and a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration from MCP/Hahnemann (Drexel) University. He has been a paramedic for 20 years, is married with one daughter, and lives in Williamsville.

The Buffalo General Hospital, an affiliate of Kaleida Health, is a 742-bed acute care tertiary medical center. A major affiliate of the University at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo General offers medical treatment in a wide spectrum of clinical inpatient departments and outpatient programs.

Specialized programs at the hospital include cardiac and orthopedic surgery, psychiatry, dialysis, gastroenterology, cardiac rehabilitation, rehabilitation medicine, kidney and pancreas transplantation, neurology and neurosurgery.