Rochester Regional Health - Rochester General Hospital

Rochester Regional Health, located in Rochester, New York, is an integrated health system that was formed in 2014, with the joining of Rochester General and Unity Health systems.

The network includes five hospitals, ElderONE/PACE (Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) and home health programs, outpatient laboratories, rehabilitation programs and surgical centers, independent and assisted living centers and skilled nursing facilities. They serve families in communities from the Greater Rochester area across Western New York and the Finger Lakes region.

Rochester Regional Health is the third largest employer in Rochester.

History

In February 2003, Rochester General Health System (then called ViaHealth) and Unity Health System open discussions to merge into one healthcare system, but discussions ended in April 2004, when Rochester General's board of directors voted unanimously to reject the merger. The disagreement was partly due to the differences in ViaHealth wanting to merge its medical and dental staff together, and Unity Health System the opposite. Merger discussions began again in April 2013, in response to incentives built by the Federal Affordable Care Act, but also New York State regulations and increasing pressure for better outcomes and lower costs from business and commercial insurers.

In July 2014, Rochester General Health System and Unity Health System merged. The new system was referred to as "RU system" or "Newco" for a short period of time, until the name Rochester Regional Health System was decided by the newly formed board of directors.

In January 2015, United Memorial Medical Center joined the system. Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic joined the system in April 2015. The hospitals joined due to the difficulty for small-town rural health clinics to be financially viable and to attract and retain adequate medical staff.

In May 2015, the system shortened its name to Rochester Regional Health.

Hospitals

Rochester General Hospital

• Rochester General Hospital, a 528-bed acute-care facility with a medical and dental staff of 1,500 that provides services including emergency, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology.

Unity Hospital

• Unity Hospital, is a 337-bed community hospital in the town of Greece, NY.

Newark-Wayne Community Hospital

• Newark Wayne Community Hospital, a 120-bed hospital in Wayne County

Clifton Springs Hospital and Clinic

• Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic, The 262-bed Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic provides acute care, primary care, cancer treatment and behavioral health and addiction recovery programs in the central Finger Lakes region. The hospital features private rooms for every patient. An integrative program, the Springs of Clifton, delivers conventional care as well as complimentary medicine therapies including massage, acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, chiropractic services, mineral baths and an herbal medicinary.

United Memorial Medical Center

• United Memorial Medical Center, United Memorial Medical Center is a 131-bed hospital in Batavia serving residents of Genesee County and the surrounding rural communities.

Notable staff

• Sophie French Palmer - Early Nurse Reformer and a founder and first editor of the American Journal of Nursing.
• Agnes Bartlett Curtis - Long-time Volunteer Red Cross Nurses Aide and American Red Cross administrator. During WWII, as an administrator of the Eastern Area, Curtis organized, trained, and placed volunteer nurses’ aides in nursing services, in U.S. and overseas military hospitals.
• Dr. Ronald Kirshner - Distinguished Cardiac Surgeon. Dr. Kirshner is notable for helping Rochester General Hospital to become the first Cleveland Clinic Heart Surgery Center outside of Ohio. In 2001, Dr. Kirshner and his team received the RIT/USA Today Quality Cup for applying the teaching of the General Motor’s PICOS process to the practice of Cardiac Surgery.

Sources