Diabetes and Endocrinology Center opens at Memorial

Dr. Anita Chaudhuri

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center recently celebrated the grand opening of a regional care center for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a deadly disease that affects tens of thousands of Western New York residents and their families.

The Diabetes and Endocrinology Center of Niagara, located on the third floor of the hospital’s Mary C. Dyster Pavilion, will employ a comprehensive approach to combating diabetes. In addition to diagnosis and treatment, it will emphasize awareness and education – an approach that focuses on encouraging patients to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The Center also will specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid, metabolic and other disorders of the endocrine system.

According to the New York State Department of Health, Niagara County’s death rate from diabetes in 2000 was 31.8 per 100,000 population – a full 59 percent higher than the upstate New York death rate of 19.9 per 100,000 residents.

The Center becomes only the third of its kind to serve the residents of Western New York and the Finger Lakes region. Memorial President and CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo noted that patients who phone for appointments at existing centers in Buffalo and Rochester often must wait weeks or even months for an appointment.

“Today, we proud to announce that the wait is over for the estimated 8,000-plus Niagara County residents and more than 38,000 Erie County residents who have been diagnosed as having diabetes, thyroid and other endocrine disorders, not to mention the thousands of others who have yet to be diagnosed,” Ruffolo said.

“Beginning today, we offer the full continuum of care: prevention, community education regarding diabetes management, nutrition counseling and expert medical care. In the months to come, we will introduce an all-important exercise component, as well,” he added.

Seeing patients at the Center is Anita Chaudhuri, M.D., who is board certified in Internal Medicine and in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. Memorial recruited Dr. Chaudhuri from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and a staff physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the VA Pittsburgh Health Care System.

Dr. Pravin Mehta, a board certified endocrinologist who has practiced in the community for more than 22 years, will continue to treat patients at Memorial, as well.

At the same time, Dr. Chaudhuri and her staff will be establishing referral linkages with ophthalmologists, nephrologists, and podiatrists -- specialists who can provide treatment for the eyes, kidneys, and feet in an expert and timely manner – as well as with Dr. Abeer Eddib, a member of Memorial’s OB/GYN team who will manage the pregnant diabetic patient and women with gestational diabetes.

“The approach we are taking will greatly improve the quality of life and the quality of health care for thousands of people living in the Greater Niagara region,” Ruffolo said. “We’re committed to making expert medical care available and easily accessible right here at home while providing needed programs that will benefit the entire region.”