RIT and Rochester General Health System Host Seminar on Health Care Challenges April 14

Rochester Institute of Technology and Rochester General Health System are launching a joint health care seminar series as part of the new strategic alliance between the university and health care provider.

The first event in the series, “Innovations in Health Care Delivery and Design,” is Tuesday, April 14, featuring keynote speaker Stuart Altman, one of the nation’s leading experts in health care industry reform and economics.

The breakfast presentation is from 7:15 to 9 a.m. at the Dyer Arts Center, Lyndon Baines Johnson Building, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, on the RIT campus. Altman will address the topic “Health Care Challenges for the Future” before top health and business leaders from the Rochester area community.

Altman is Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He recently served as a member of President Barack Obama’s Health Advisory Committee during the presidential campaign. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Altman to the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. From 1984 to 1996, Altman served as the chairman of the congressionally legislated Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPac) responsible for advising Congress and the administration on the Medicare DRG Hospital Payment System and other system reforms.

“As RIT and RGHS begin to shape our new strategic alliance, the series is a great conversation starter to engage key leaders and stakeholders in the community,” says RIT President Bill Destler. “We want to stimulate innovative and creative ways to address health care delivery and the array of challenges in the future.”

Adds Mark Clement, president and CEO of Rochester General Health System, “This forum will lead to thoughtful discussions about the management of the growing and diverse health care needs of the Rochester area community through innovative financing, benefit design and clinical management of care.”

The seminar series is sponsored by Rochester General Health System, RIT, Constellation Brands, Eastman Kodak Co., Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and Wegmans.

In December 2008, Destler and Clement announced a partnership that will provide opportunities for both RIT and RGHS. An agreement between the two institutions will include RIT becoming the health system’s official academic affiliate and RGHS becoming the university’s official affiliated medical center. RIT’s Board of Trustees and the RGHS’ Board of Directors are moving forward with the establishment of a joint steering team to develop a framework for the alliance.

MEDIA NOTE: This event is not open to the public, but media is welcome to cover Altman’s presentation. Please park in parking lot L on the RIT campus. Altman will speak from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. followed by a question and answer segment.