Evergreen Health and UBMD Internal Medicine Announce Partnership

New Collaboration Will Increase Services for People Living with HIV and Hepatitis C

BUFFALO, NY – Today, Evergreen Health and UBMD Internal Medicine announced a collaborative partnership that will increase the quality of care for individuals living with HIV and Hepatitis C and will provide an ideal setting for clinical research. Through the collaboration, Alyssa S. Shon, MD, Anthony D. Martinez, MD and Karen Brown, FNP, have joined Evergreen’s Primary Care team. The partnership will increase the opportunities for clinical research and student training in the areas of HIV and Hepatitis C in Western New York, and give patients access to the newest treatments.

In 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a detailed plan to end the HIV epidemic in New York State. The goal is to reduce the number of new HIV infections statewide from 3,000 (reported in 2014) to under 750 by 2020.

“Healthcare organizations are working hard to improve patient outcomes and the health of communities nationwide,” said Ray Ganoe, President and CEO, Evergreen Health. “In New York State we are particularly focused on the Governor’s initiative to end the HIV epidemic. Evergreen’s collaboration with UBMD Internal Medicine will bring together the region’s leaders in HIV and Hepatitis C care as we work toward our common goal –to improve the quality of care we provide to our patients every day.”

Evergreen serves more than 11,000 patients regionally using a comprehensive approach that combines primary care, specialty care, substance user health, mental health and pharmacy services, with supportive services like housing, nutrition, care coordination and transportation. In 2017, the organization opened a 35,000 square-foot addition to its Buffalo office in order to accommodate its growing patient base.

“Evergreen has developed an innovative approach for providing optimal care for individuals living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and for the medically underserved,” said Thomas A. Russo, MD, Professor and Vice Chair for Finance in the Department of Medicine at UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases. “UBMD Internal Medicine’s collaboration with Evergreen will further strengthen this state of the art care model, generate new collaborative research opportunities, and enable our medical students, residents and Fellows in training to experience and learn from this progressive institution that is fulfilling a societal promise to care for these vulnerable populations.”

UBMD Internal Medicine has 144 respected Primary and Specialty Care doctors along with 196 staff members working in 16 hospital and outpatient clinic locations. UBMDIM physicians treat patients, conduct research and teach the next generation of doctors at UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Evergreen Health fosters healthy communities by providing medical, supportive, and behavioral services to individuals and families in Western New York –especially those who are living with chronic illness or who are underserved by the healthcare system.