In 2008 Rochester Institute of Technology formed a strategic alliance with Rochester General Health System. Now Rochester General has joined with Unity Health System and other regional providers to form Rochester Regional Health, and the Alliance with RIT is stronger than ever.

Capitalizing on both organizations’ unique and special strengths, the RIT & Rochester Regional Health Alliance is dedicated to innovation in medical care, education and research for the betterment of individuals in our institutions and the greater community. RIT is Rochester Regional Health’s official academic affiliate and Rochester Regional is the university’s official affiliated clinical partner. We work together to improve the quality and cost of health care delivery, and to demonstrably improve the health of the people of Western New York and the Finger Lakes.

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 Rochester Regional will collaborate on education and research programs in these and other key areas – a collaboration that includes mutual access to each institution’s expertise and facilities.

Rochester Regional Health currently provides sports medicine services to RIT’s Division I men’s and women’s hockey, as well as 22 Division III teams. In Fall 2015, Rochester Regional Family Medicine opened on the RIT campus, offering primary care services for RIT faculty and staff, as well as for the surrounding communities.

In our quest to meet health care’s “triple aim” – the improvement of care quality, community health and the cost of services – Rochester Regional Health and RIT will collaborate on a wide range of projects that capitalize on Rochester Regional’s clinical expertise and RIT’s technical expertise. These include:     

• A Health Care Idea Lab that provides excellent opportunities for students to find innovative solutions to some of health care’s most challenging problems.
• A Health Coaching program, in which RIT students serve as extenders of care for services provided by Rochester Regional Health and GRIPA, the health system’s physician organization. The program, which aims to improve the health of chronically ill patients while reducing hospital readmissions, also provides valuable pre-professional experience for RIT health sciences students.
• Student capstones, or senior projects, which also support Rochester Regional by bringing innovative ideas and solutions to current challenges resulting from the changing health care environment.