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ECMC adjusts following on-site tragedy

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Recent events and changes on the Erie County Medical Center campus have prompted hospital officials to increase security.

Security was stepped following a bomb threat at ECMC the day after Dr. Timothy Jorden shot and killed his estranged girlfriend Jackie Wisniewski.   

"Clearly we were at a position where we needed to send some comfort in a clear message to our employees and to our patients,"  said Jody Lomeo ECMC's CEO.

He says off-duty police officers were brought in and the medical center is consulting the Buffalo Police Department.

"We've grown quite a bit over the four years," Lomeo said. "So the timing is obviously  right for a full review of the campus and security needs."  

Just under two weeks after the June 12 incident, Lomeo says the atmosphere at the hospital is getting better.  

"But it's what you would expect it to be. We're still in the healing process. I think we're going to go through that healing process for some time. There's still the shock, the disbelief of what's happened."  

 ECMC has a system in place for staff to anonymously report abuse or workplace violence, but Lomeo says an internal investigation found no complaints about Dr. Jorden.

"Now after the fact, unfortunately, others have come forward to say that they were friends or colleagues or knew of something (about Jorden and Wisniewski), but, quite honestly, that's after the fact." 

Research shows one out of four people are victims of domestic violence, so Lomeo says Wisniewski's death is a wake-up call.

"We cannot allow this incident to go away and go back to business as usual. We have to be vigilant. We have to train. We have to be aware of what's going on. ECMC wants to be a leader in that. But, it's a call to all of us to say that this cannot happen again."