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Leadership Niagara awards Leader of the Year honors to Memorial, NIMAC

Memorial's Joseph Ruffolo, center, accepts the Leader of the Year Award from Leadership Niagara's Skip Helfich, left, and board Chair Jill Spira.

Leadership Niagara has awarded “Leader of the Year” honors to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and community volunteers John Cooper and Merrell Lane of the Niagara Military Affairs Council (NIMAC).

The awards were presented during a reception at the New York Power Authority Power Vista in Lewiston.

Since Niagara Falls native Joseph A. Ruffolo became Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center’s president and chief executive officer in 2002 the hospital has settled outstanding debt, improved collection practices, worked to secure grant money and renegotiated rates with third-party payers.

While enhancing relationships with area elected leaders, Memorial has recognized the need to focus on the community’s unique health needs, including the area’s high incidence of cardiac disease, and has introduced several regional health initiatives including The Heart Center of Niagara, Diabetes Center and Endocrinology Center of Niagara, Spine Center of Niagara and University Sports Medicine of Niagara.

Memorial’s other successes include a renewed emphasis on women’s health services, increased use of orthopedic and behavioral health services, implementation of a teaching and nutrition center to house community education efforts, and the recruitment of several new physicians to join its highly regarded medical staff.

Cooper and Lane led the Western New York effort to save the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station this year after the Department of Defense recommended its closure to the Bare Realignment and Closure Commission. Working with a group of dedicated NIMAC volunteers, they collected more than 126,300 letters supporting the military’s presence in Niagara Falls and spearheaded rallies and events throughout the region.

The Leader of the Year award annually recognizes Niagara County leaders based on their involvement in community affairs, ability to be a community resource and address community needs, service as a role model for future leaders, and demonstration of a county-wide focus in addressing community issues.