Finger Lakes Health will officially join the health system led by the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) August 1, officials of both institutions announced today at a news conference and celebratory visit with employees.
The affiliation will maintain and expand access to high-quality health services close to home in the communities of eastern Ontario, Seneca, Yates, and Wayne counties served by Finger Lakes Health. It follows a recently signed agreement to collaborate with New York State Attorney General Letitia James to ensure the affiliation meets the health-care needs of Finger Lakes residents.
“Affiliation ensures that we can continue to provide vital services for all our patients and focus on expanding their health care choices in the years to come,” said Jose Acevedo, MD, President and CEO of Finger Lakes Health. “We are proud to join the University of Rochester Medical Center, a center of research and patient care with a reputation for exceptional innovation, quality, and safety.”
Acevedo noted the advantages of joining a health system that has built meaningful, productive affiliations with other rural hospitals in upstate New York – at a time when rural hospitals in other parts of the country are financially fragile and at risk of closure. “This connection to one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers will build upon established clinical partnerships, increase access to specialty care, and enhance our ability to serve our communities for generations to come.”
The affiliation will now proceed, after several years of planning, following anti-trust investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and New York State Attorney General’s Office. The systems provided extensive documents and data demonstrating substantial benefits to patients and communities served by other rural hospitals after they joined UR Medicine, the health system led by URMC, and showing that the same will be true for Finger Lakes Health. The parties will develop a detailed plan for maintaining and expanding patient services in the Finger Lakes Health service area, reporting progress to the Attorney General annually for five years.
“We thank Attorney General James for her support in making this affiliation happen,” said Dr. Mark Taubman, CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center. “We are also grateful to Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Joe Morelle, who expressed strong support for the affiliation to federal and state regulators.”
Expanding on Existing Service Collaborations
Taubman noted that URMC and its physicians already collaborate with Finger Lakes Health to provide cardiology, stroke care, cancer treatment, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, urology and vascular care services in the Finger Lakes Health service area, including performing surgeries at Geneva General Hospital and Finger Lakes Surgery Center.
Under the affiliation plan, URMC will work with Finger Lakes Health to expand access to a range of primary and specialty care services; support implementation of the electronic medical record used by all UR Medicine affiliates to provide patients a seamless care experience; build operational efficiencies through group purchasing; and help recruit physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
“Our mission as a health system is to provide families across upstate New York with high-quality patient care as close to home as possible for nearly all their medical needs, with access to highly specialized services by traveling no farther than Rochester,” Taubman said. “We have high regard for Dr. Acevedo and his leadership team, and look forward to working more closely to expand access to care for Finger Lakes families.”
Extensive Search for the Ideal Partner
The affiliation process began in June 2019 with Finger Lakes Health’s Board of Directors initiating a request for proposals for potential partners. The aim of Finger Lakes Health was to serve its large patient base in eastern Ontario, Seneca, Yates, and Wayne counties with comprehensive and patient-centered medical care.
Menzo Case, Finger Lakes Health Board Chair, said, “Our board was committed to serving our communities’ healthcare needs. The University of Rochester Medical Center clearly emerged as the best partner aligned with our mission, committed to our communities, and assuring ease of access to services close to home.”
Formal affiliation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in October 2020, the two organizations entered into a management services agreement approved by the New York State Department of Health. The management services agreement focused on expanding the longstanding collaborative relationships between Finger Lakes Health and URMC physicians and served as a meaningful step toward the affiliation.
Finger Lakes Health currently employs about 1,350 doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and staff members who will join more than 27,000 faculty and staff members employed by URMC and its UR Medicine affiliates.
The new affiliate adds two inpatient hospitals – Geneva General and Soldiers & Sailors Memorial in Penn Yan, along with four long-term care facilities and 13 physician practices – to a health system that includes Strong Memorial and Highland Hospitals in Rochester, Thompson Health in Canandaigua, Noyes Health in Dansville, Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, and St. James Hospital in Hornell, as well as the nursing homes, senior housing facilities, home health providers and physician groups that together make up the UR Medicine health system.
Geneva General and Soldiers & Sailors will retain local governance by community boards, with three URMC representatives joining the Finger Lakes Health Board of Directors, and three FLH representatives joining the URMC Board. Dr. Jose Acevedo, President and CEO of Finger Lakes Health, will continue overseeing all administrative operations and patient services provided by the new affiliate, which will be known as UR Medicine Finger Lakes Health.
Support from Elected Officials
- U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said, “This new affiliation will leverage the strengths of both Finger Lakes Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) to enhance the quality and expand the scope of health care services in the Finger Lakes region. This will help safeguard jobs and ensure that vital rural health care institutions like Geneva General and Soldiers & Sailors Hospitals can continue to provide top-notch care to meet the needs of local residents.”
- U.S. Representative Joseph Morelle said, “Ensuring quality, affordable healthcare for everyone has always been one of my top priorities, and this agreement will help make that a reality for our community. I’m proud to have advocated for this exciting partnership which will strengthen the future of URMC and enhance quality of care for patients, particularly in our rural communities. I am grateful to the Attorney General, URMC, Finger Lakes Health, and everyone whose hard work and dedication has made this possible.”
- New York State Senator Pamela Helming said, “Finger Lakes Health and URMC are vital health systems in our region. I’m encouraged that this affiliation will help ensure that residents, particularly in our rural communities, have access to the local, quality care and services they and their families need. Thank you to Dr. Acevedo, Dr. Taubman and the dedicated employees of Finger Lakes Health and URMC.”
- New York State Assemblyman Jeff Gallahan said, “I am excited to hear of the recent agreement between Finger Lakes Health and U of R Medical Center on their new affiliation. This partnership will provide access to primary care, emergency care and specialty services close to home for our rural residents. In addition, it preserves vital health care jobs in our area and allows Finger Lake Health to recruit some of the most qualified physicians and advanced practice providers to our region. I appreciate URMC and Finger Lakes Health’s commitment to our community and I look forward to working with them to ensure the continued vitality of health care across the Finger Lakes.”
About Finger Lakes Health
Finger Lakes Health is an integrated delivery system that provides a full range of acute and long-term health care services to residents of the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York. Acute and long-term care services are provided on three campuses located in Ontario, Seneca and Yates Counties. Primary care services are provided in Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates Counties.
The system includes the following facilities: Geneva General Hospital, a general acute care hospital providing both primary care and a full range of secondary level services, and Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital, a critical access hospital. FLH also includes four long-term care facilities, seven primary care practices, six specialty care practices, and two apartment complexes that provide subsidized housing for seniors and mobility impaired individuals. The system has an ambulatory surgery center, inpatient and outpatient dialysis center, early learning (child care) center, outpatient psychiatric services clinic, college of nursing and health sciences, and a school of practical nursing.
About URMC
The University of Rochester Medical Center forms the centerpiece of the University of Rochester’s health research, teaching and patient care missions. Over the last five years, URMC has garnered more than $1.3 billion in biomedical research, landing the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in the top one-quarter of U.S. medical centers in federal research funding.
The University’s health care delivery network is anchored by Strong Memorial Hospital, an 886-bed, University-owned teaching hospital designated by the New York State Department of Health as a Level One Regional Trauma and Burn Center for adults and children, and home to Western New York’s only cardiac transplant program. URMC employs more than 1,500 faculty physicians, including many nationally renowned specialists, and trains more than 800 new doctors each year in 26 medical residency and 58 fellowship programs. About half of these trainees enter practice in New York State upon completion of their programs, 80 percent of whom choose to remain in the Finger Lakes region.
Leadership photos and biosketches, FLH facility photos, service area map and logos available here.