Rochester General Health System
Encyclopedia
The Rochester General Health System (RGHS) comprises several affiliated organizations that have been providing a continuum of high quality health care services to residents of greater Rochester and surrounding regions for more than 150 years. Rochester General Hospital, a 528-bed tertiary care facility, serves as the hub, or flagship of the system.
Affiliates of Rochester General include:
Rochester General is home to the Rochester Heart Institute, independently recognized nine times as one of the nation’s Top 100 Cardiac centers. RHI also is affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic, widely recognized as the top Cardiac hospital in the United States, and has access to leading edge training, technology and research.
Rochester General Health System has grown to become the fifth largest employer in the greater Rochester region and , as such, is a significant factor in the local economy. The system also recently entered a strategic alliance with Rochester Institute of Technology, allowing for meaningful and productive collaboration on biomedical research and education.
To reflect its all-encompassing mission, the hospital’s name changed to Rochester General Hospital in 1911. In the early years of the twentieth-century members of the medical staff responded to the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 and became the nucleus of the organized military hospitals, Base Hospital 19 in the First World War and the 19th General Hospital later on in Second World War.
The post Second World War years reflected a period of rapid growth and technological advancement. The hospital led the region by opening the first Premature Infant Nursery in Western New York in 1951. The absence of a hospital in the northern sections of the city prompted the establishment in 1956 of the new Rochester General Hospital Northside campus on Portland Avenue. While maintaining both the new “Northside” campus and the original, now designated “Westside” campus, the hospital continued to embrace the leading advancements in medical technology. The Westside campus closed in 1966 leaving Northside as the Rochester General Hospital.
The forerunner to the present Rochester Heart Institute, the Cardio-Pulmonary Laboratory opened in 1959 and installed the first pacemaker in 1963 closely followed by the first open-heart surgery the following year.
Through the 1970s and 1980s the hospital continued to expand to serve the needs of the community. In response to evolving health care industry in 1984, Rochester General Hospital, along with its affiliates, combined with the Genesee Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, and the Continuing Care Network to form the Greater Rochester Health system (GRHS.)
In 1997 the system celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Rochester General Hospital. This year also saw the system change its name to ViaHealth, which comprised the Rochester General Hospital, The Genesee Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, The Behavioral Health Network and the Continuing Care network of long-term care providers.
In 2001 the Genesee Hospital closed its doors after 112 years of continual service to the Rochester community.
The organization again changed its branding name from Viahealth to the Rochester General Health System in 2008 to closer reflect its long history of commitment and service to the Rochester community.,
medical and dental staff members and more than 5,000 employees. Rochester General provides care to more Monroe County residents than any other hospital in the region and, as a tertiary care facility, has strong referral relationships with several regional hospitals. In 2008, RGH cared for more than 87,000 patients in the emergency department, discharged over 31,500 inpatients, and performed more than 20,100 surgical procedures and over 1,050,000 outpatient encounters.
Affiliates of Rochester General include:
- Newark-Wayne Community Hospital
- DeMay Living Center (located on the Newark-Wayne campus)
- Behavioral Health Network of mental health and substance abuse programs
- Hill Haven, a skilled nursing home
- Independent Living for Seniors (ILS)
- Rochester General Medical Group, a network of 41 primary care and specialized physician practices located throughout Monroe and Wayne counties
Rochester General is home to the Rochester Heart Institute, independently recognized nine times as one of the nation’s Top 100 Cardiac centers. RHI also is affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic, widely recognized as the top Cardiac hospital in the United States, and has access to leading edge training, technology and research.
Rochester General Health System has grown to become the fifth largest employer in the greater Rochester region and , as such, is a significant factor in the local economy. The system also recently entered a strategic alliance with Rochester Institute of Technology, allowing for meaningful and productive collaboration on biomedical research and education.
History
Chartered in 1847 and established in 1864, the Rochester City Hospital opened during the last years of the Civil War. Along with St. Mary’s hospital that was designated as a U.S. Army General Hospital, the City Hospital’s first major challenge was the treatment of 448 Union soldiers in the next two years. In the post-war years, the Hospital rapidly grew, embracing the advancement of medical technology, and becoming a leader in Surgery and Nursing. The Rochester City Hospital School of Nursing was established in 1880 and became the 12th nursing training program in the nation and the 3rd in New York State. Many graduates from the school would later have distinguished careers in nursing and as administrators and physicians.To reflect its all-encompassing mission, the hospital’s name changed to Rochester General Hospital in 1911. In the early years of the twentieth-century members of the medical staff responded to the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 and became the nucleus of the organized military hospitals, Base Hospital 19 in the First World War and the 19th General Hospital later on in Second World War.
The post Second World War years reflected a period of rapid growth and technological advancement. The hospital led the region by opening the first Premature Infant Nursery in Western New York in 1951. The absence of a hospital in the northern sections of the city prompted the establishment in 1956 of the new Rochester General Hospital Northside campus on Portland Avenue. While maintaining both the new “Northside” campus and the original, now designated “Westside” campus, the hospital continued to embrace the leading advancements in medical technology. The Westside campus closed in 1966 leaving Northside as the Rochester General Hospital.
The forerunner to the present Rochester Heart Institute, the Cardio-Pulmonary Laboratory opened in 1959 and installed the first pacemaker in 1963 closely followed by the first open-heart surgery the following year.
Through the 1970s and 1980s the hospital continued to expand to serve the needs of the community. In response to evolving health care industry in 1984, Rochester General Hospital, along with its affiliates, combined with the Genesee Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, and the Continuing Care Network to form the Greater Rochester Health system (GRHS.)
In 1997 the system celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Rochester General Hospital. This year also saw the system change its name to ViaHealth, which comprised the Rochester General Hospital, The Genesee Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, The Behavioral Health Network and the Continuing Care network of long-term care providers.
In 2001 the Genesee Hospital closed its doors after 112 years of continual service to the Rochester community.
The organization again changed its branding name from Viahealth to the Rochester General Health System in 2008 to closer reflect its long history of commitment and service to the Rochester community.,
Facilities and Current Operations
Rochester General Hospital, the flagship of Rochester General Health System, is a 528-bed hospital served by more than 1,200medical and dental staff members and more than 5,000 employees. Rochester General provides care to more Monroe County residents than any other hospital in the region and, as a tertiary care facility, has strong referral relationships with several regional hospitals. In 2008, RGH cared for more than 87,000 patients in the emergency department, discharged over 31,500 inpatients, and performed more than 20,100 surgical procedures and over 1,050,000 outpatient encounters.
- Rochester General Hospital Centers:
- Rochester Heart Institute, As a Cleveland Clinic Heart Surgery Center, RHI is able to provide our patients with access locally to the latest research and technology the leading program in the country has to offer.
- Lipson Cancer Center provides residents throughout upstate New York with cancer treatment, radiation therapy, and surgery services.
- Rochester General Medical Groups provides quality primary care to people of all ages at 40 practices in Monroe and Wayne Counties.
- Behavior Health Network offers a comprehensive system of clinical mental health and substance abuse treatment services.
- Twig Birthing Center offers State-of-the-art obstetrical services, and a Level II special care nursery with Neonatologists and Pediatricians available 24 hours a day.
- Serving Wayne County, With new, leading-edge medical technology, a direct partnership with Rochester General Hospital, and highly trained staff driven by our Excellence Every Day program, provides primary care, surgical and specialty medical services.
- Senior Service Centers:
- Independent Living for Seniors, program gives the frail elderly an alternative to nursing home placement. It is designed to enable seniors to live in their own homes served by a network of supportive services. ILS offers all of the health, medical and social services needed to help seniors maintain independence, dignity and quality of life.
- Hill Haven offers a wide variety of health care programs designed to help residents make the most of life during their recovery and treatment. Residents have access to in-house medical care provided by physicians, nurse practitioners and a range of medical specialists.
- DeMay Living Center at the Newark-Wayne Community Hospital offers a wide variety of services for the adult who can no longer live independently, and who may need skilled nursing care or short-term rehabilitation.
Rankings and Achievements
- Thompson/Reuters Top 100 Cardiac Hospital designated nine times.
- 2010 SDI Northeast Regional Top 10 Integrated Health Networks designated in 2009, 2008
- Nurse Magnet Designation 2009, 2004
- New York State/JCAHO accredited Stroke Center 2007, 2004
- American College of Surgeons Outstanding Cancer program - 2006
- Department of Health and Human Services - Innovation in Prevention Award - 2006
- American Stroke Association Gold Performance Achievement Award - 2009
Affiliations and Research Partners
- The Rochester Institute of Technology and the Rochester General Health System will collaborate on educational and research programs - a partnership that will include mutual access to each institution’s world-renowned expertise and facilities.
Notable Staff
- Sophie French Palmer - Early Nurse Reformer and a founder and first editor of the American Journal of Nursing
- Agnes Bartlett Curtis - Long-time Volunteer Red Cross Nurses Aide and American Red Cross administrator. During Second World War, as an administrator of the Eastern Area , Mrs. Curtis organized, trained, and placed volunteer nurses’ aides in nursing services, weakened by the departure of personnel for military service, in U.S. and overseas military hospitals. By the war's end, the active nurses' aides grew from 400 to 40,000.
- Dr. Ronald Kirshner - Distinguished Cardiac Surgeon. Dr. Kirshner is one of the busiest cardiac surgeons in New York State and is the visionary behind Rochester General Hospital becoming the first Cleveland Clinic Heart Surgery Center outside of Ohio. In addition to his practice of cardiac surgery, Dr. Kirshner has extensive training in the quality management of cardiac surgery and the application of the quality principles developed in industry to medicine and has extensive training is this area through leaders in this field including General Motors and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. In 2001, Dr. Kirshner and his team received the RIT/USA Today Quality Cup for applying the teaching of the General Motor’s PICOS process to the practice of Cardiac Surgery."
- Dr. Stephen Rauh- Eminent Colorectal Surgeon- Rochester General’s burgeoning Robotics program is the largest in the region, and its volume places RGH among the top 4% of U.S. hospitals currently offering robotic surgery options. Dr. Rauh is a pioneer in robotic surgery and was one of the first colorectal surgeons in the country to utilize the da Vinci robot to perform colectomy's and other colorectal surgeries.