Buffalo Union Claims Doctors Are Sending Injured Firefighters Back to Work

The Buffalo firefighters union Tuesday claimed doctors in the emergency room at Erie County Medical Center are clearing injured firefighters for work while they’re still hurt.

Firefighters also can’t get required appointments with a doctor and, at least in one case, are facing delays getting prescriptions refilled, Thomas P. Barrett, vice president of Local 282, Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association, told city lawmakers.

The problems stem, according to the union, from a $335,000 agreement signed a few months ago and aimed to help care for firefighters who are injured while on duty.

The agreement between the city and Great Lakes Physicians Services, which covers injured police and fire employees, was endorsed by the firefighters union when it was proposed several months ago but is turning out to be a bad deal, Barrett said during a meeting of the Common Council’s Finance Committee.

Barrett, the union vice president, said he knows of about 10 to 12 recent instances of injured firefighters being put right back on duty in recent weeks, including:

*A firefighter who was missing skin on his hands as a result of the July 13 chemical fire at Niagara Lubricant in Black Rock.

*A firefighter with a knee injury was told to ice and elevate the leg when going back on duty.

Both ECMC and Great Lakes referred questions to Mayor Byron W. Brown’s administration.

Brown and the fire union have had a stormy relationship due to a long-standing contract dispute.

The fire union initially supported the deal with Great Lakes because “we were assured that care and treatment of our firefighters would improve vastly with this contract,” Barrett told the Finance Committee. “I’m here to report that hasn’t happened.”

In all cases when doctors sent the firefighters back to work with injuries, Deputy Fire Commissioner Vincent R. Gugliuzza, when appraised of the situation, kept them off duty, Barrett said.

The concerns about injured firefighters being put back on duty too early started at about the same time the agreement with Great Lakes Physicians Services took effect July 1, he said.

The alleged problems with Great Lakes include members not being able to get appointments with the office when trying to return to work.

In those cases, the injured firefighter must get medical clearance.

Dr. David Hughes, president of Great Lakes Physicians Services and also an ER doctor at ECMC, said the union’s claims about not being able to get appointments for members is untrue.

Hughes said his company is a vendor and referred questions to the Brown administration.

“Who you need to speak with is the folks in the administration at the City of Buffalo. Clearly, they’re trying to set up a process. It’s their contract.”

Mayoral spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said a new system has been set up to provide health care for injured firefighters, one which would produce “millions of dollars” in savings to the taxpayers.

“There’s a new system in place that will take some time for everyone to get accustomed to,” he said, “but at the end of the day, it should result in better and [more] timely care for the firefighters.”