Rochester General Health System and RIT Host ‘Innovations in Health Care Delivery and Design’

Rochester Institute of Technology and Rochester General Health System continue their joint health care seminar series as part of the strategic alliance between the university and health care provider.

The second event in the series, “Innovations in Health Care Delivery and Design,” is Thursday, Oct. 22, featuring Dr. Glenn Steele Jr., CEO of Geisinger Health System, widely known for his investigations into the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancer and colorectal cancer surgery.

The breakfast presentation will be held at the Center for Student Innovation on the RIT campus. Steele will speak on the topic “ProvenCare® - A Model for Managed Care 3.0” before invited health and business leaders from the Rochester area community.

In 2001, Dr. Steele became president and chief executive officer of the Geisinger Health System, based in Danville, Pa. He joined Geisinger from the University of Chicago where he served as the Richard T. Crane Professor in the Department of Surgery, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine. His laboratory investigations have focused on the cell biology of gastrointestinal cancer and pre-cancer. Dr. Steele is a past chairman of the American Board of Surgery and serves on the editorial boards of numerous prominent medical journals.

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

“The collaboration enables us to attract national leaders in healthcare to Rochester for an intimate conversation about trends which will impact our community,” says Barry Culhane, RIT executive assistant to the president and coordinator of the seminar series.

Stuart Altman, one of the nation’s leading experts in health care industry reform and economics, kicked off the seminar series in April.

Since the announcement of the strategic alliance in December 2008, RIT faculty and Rochester General Hospital physicians have begun collaborating on numerous endeavors in the areas of education, research and shared services. For example, RIT students from various degree programs are allowed access to Rochester General Hospital operating rooms as part of their course curriculums. Physicians and faculty members are also submitting joint research grant proposals to the National Institutes of Health. And both RIT and Rochester General Health System worked closely on plans related to the H1N1 flu.

To learn more about the alliance, visit www.rit.edu/rghs.