By TRACEY DRURY
tdrury@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1609

More than 50 Kaleida Health employees from the Judge Joseph S. Mattina Community Health Center on Buffalo's West Side will begin exploring their options for new jobs at Buffalo General Hospital in coming weeks.

Kaleida last week set a Nov. 1 closing date for the center, filing notice Aug. 5 with the state Labor Department. The state Department of Health approved the closure plan earlier in the week.

The facility on Niagara Street has been operating at a deficit for several years, with annual losses exceeding $1 million. The center has operated since the mid-1980s at the site of the former Columbus Hospital. Health workers see about 12,000 patients annually seeking family health care, prenatal care and women's health.

Most of the workers at the site are represented by CWA Local 1168, which has bumping rights at Buffalo General. Other unions representing workers at the site include AFL-CIO and 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

In the next few weeks, employees will meet union officials about opportunities for other jobs within Buffalo General, which legally owns Mattina.

Kaleida had been working on a lease arrangement with Northwest Buffalo Community Health Care Center to take over the site and operate it as an extension site, but a deal has yet to be reached.

The Mattina site was among several being considered by the organization. Joanne Haefner, executive director, said in an e-mail response that the organization continues to explore options for an expansion to the West Side of Buffalo.

Union officials, who waged an unsuccessful legal fight to keep the site open, say the community will ultimately lose most.

"We think it's a sad day for the community," says John Klein, president of CWA Local 1168. "We're not sure if Northwest is going to come in and take it over. And even if they do, the people who have been working there all these years will, for the most part, not be able to continue to serve this community. The state is devastated."

Kaleida continues to work with its real estate department to come up with a plan for the property after the closure, with or without another health-care provider, said Michael Hughes, Kaleida vice president for marketing, public relations and government affairs.

"These are very difficult decisions, but we have said for the last three years that continued cuts like the $50 million we have faced is going to result in changes that we have to make as an organization," he said.