Western New York's hospitals face a financially challenging future

After a challenging two years, hospital executives are buckling in for what could be the worst year yet with ongoing cost increases, labor difficulties and revenue shortfalls.

The rest of the community should be concerned as well: With combined revenue of more than $5.5 billion, the Western New York hospital sector is a major employer that touches just about everyone, from patients and families to hundreds if not thousands of vendors and businesses.

A mid-December report by the Healthcare Association of New York State did not mince words, warning that three out of five hospitals statewide are underwater, with a fourth on thin ice.

Western New York's largest hospital systems aren't immune from that.

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Real estate deals of the week

• $30M Harris Hill Commons clears final barrier to groundbreaking
• New Jersey investors pay $12.1M for Tonawanda Towers
• $2.5M project will see 12 vacant Niagara Falls homes renovated
• Frontier Group of Cos. revives Swan Street Railyard project
• Thirty-one $1M-plus transactions lead December's high-end deals

See more of Business First's comprehensive real estate coverage in?Crane Watch

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News from the banking world

• M&T Bank ended 2022 on a high note as it reaped the benefits of the People's United Bank acquisition, outgoing CFO Darren King told shareholders this week. ?|??Read more
• For more than 20 years, 摩根大通 's presence in Western New York has been limited to the small team of commercial and government bankers in downtown Buffalo. That changed last month with the opening of the region's only Chase branch in Amherst. | Read more
• KeyBank parent KeyCorp has set aside enough money to cover five years of potential loan losses, "reflecting a more cautious economic outlook," CEO Chris Gorman told securities analysts on Thursday. | Read more

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ShearShare founders' trek to success

Courtney and Tye Caldwell did something impressive last year —?they climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

But that's not really the first mountain the Caldwells have climbed as a team.

They’ve done marriage together, parented together, and together they started ShearShare, Inc. (acquired) , a web-based platform that connects barbers and stylists with empty chairs at existing salons. Last year, they moved to Buffalo together after winning $500,000 in the 2021 43North competition.

The more they reflected on the seven-day mountain journey, which they took in December, the more similarities they see between their trying trek and running a startup. ??|??Read more

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What do cannabis and HVAC have in common?

Real estate, banking, insurance, ever-changing regulations — there are a lot of things taking up a cannabis entrepreneur's time and wallet. But there's good reason for businesses wanting to succeed in New York’s emerging recreational marijuana market to start thinking about marketing — SEO marketing, in particular — now. Just ask Range Marketing .??|??Read more

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Other Half expands; Nietzsche's on the market; RRF grants

• Two years after opening a pop-up taproom at Seneca One, Other Half Brewing Company is ready to expand with a full restaurant, taproom and beer garden.??|??Read more
• One of Buffalo’s longest-running live music venues is likely to see some changes, with owner Joe Rubino putting Nietzsche’s on the real estate market for $650,000. | Read more
• More than 450 restaurants and related companies in Western New York were approved for federal funding designed to help food and beverage companies get through the pandemic. Business First pulled out the top 20 recipients from the latest data released by the Small Business Administration. | Read more

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This Weekly Edition was compiled by?Sara Paulson Meehan. Questions? Comments? Concerns??Send them to?[email protected].