Overview
Under the umbrella of a new strategic alliance, RIT is Rochester General Health System’s official academic affiliate and RGHS is the university’s official affiliated medical center.
As technology continues to transform biomedical science, academic areas like computing and information sciences and digital imaging offer increasing relevance to future advancements in medicine. RIT and RGHS will collaborate on education and research programs in these and other key areas - a collaboration that will include mutual access to each institution’s expertise and facilities.
Areas of collaboration include engineering, microsystems, medical imaging and medical device research.
“Rochester General Hospital and its affiliates take great pride in being nationally recognized for clinical excellence, and we are committed to identifying ongoing opportunities to deliver the highest quality care and service for our patients,” says Mark Clement, president and CEO of Rochester General Health System. “A strategic alliance that allows both RGHS and RIT to leverage our combined knowledge and resources opens yet another channel to the rapid advancements in biomedical sciences and biotechnology, and may have a very positive impact on the care we deliver.”
The alliance, announced in December 2008, offers broader application opportunities to faculty and students in existing RIT academic areas such as medical illustration, biomedical photographic communication, medical informatics, physician assistant education, medical sonography, biomedical science and technology, biochemistry, health management and public health policy.
RIT and RGHS already have many points of connection. Currently, RGHS provides approximately 42 percent of the clinical training placements for students in RIT’s Physician Assistant program. A number of the program’s clinical instructors and adjunct faculty are affiliated with RGHS. RIT students in the diagnostic medical sonography program train in the Radiology and OB/GYN departments at Rochester General, and the majority of sonographers on staff trained at RIT.
“Biomedical science is fast becoming a kind of information science in which RIT's expertise in areas such as information technology, nanotechnology, robotics and imaging can play an increasingly important role,” says RIT President Bill Destler. “This alliance will build on these and other strengths to create tremendous opportunities for our students, faculty and staff, as well as the Greater Rochester community.”
Photo by Stratus Imaging
Rochester Institute of Technology is internationally recognized for academic leadership in computing, engineering, imaging technology, and fine and applied arts, in addition to unparalleled access and support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Nearly 16,500 full- and part-time students are enrolled in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs at RIT, and its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation. For two decades, U.S. News & World Report has ranked RIT among the nation’s leading comprehensive universities. RIT is featured in The Princeton Review’s 2009 edition of The Best 368 Colleges and in Barron’s Best Buys in Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education recognizes RIT as a “Great College to Work For.”
RIT has a long tradition in the biosciences. In 1983, RIT became the first university in the nation to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in biotechnology. In 2007, RIT dedicated its Center for Bioscience Education and Technology. CBET is a model for comprehensive academic, community and career-training programs in biotechnology and medical sciences. RIT also conducts research related to deafness and hard-of-hearing and has one of the few degree programs nationally in medical informatics. RIT has 106,000 alumni living throughout the world.
Rochester General Health System (RGHS) has been serving the community of Greater Rochester and beyond for more than 160 years and has earned national recognition for excellence in a variety of clinical specialties. Rochester General Hospital, the flagship of the system, is a 528-bed tertiary care facility that treats more Monroe County patients than any other hospital in the area. It is the fourth largest cardiac center in New York State and has been recognized as one of the nation’s 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals eight times.
RGHS also includes Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, a 188-bed facility serving primarily Wayne County; two long-term care facilities – Hill Haven and DeMay Living Center; a Medical Group consisting of more than 40 practices spread throughout Monroe and Wayne Counties; a Behavioral Health Network that provides adult and pediatric care; and Independent Living for Seniors (ILS), a program for seniors designed to enable the frail elderly to live in their own home, served by a network of supportive services.
