UR Medicine, YMCA of Greater Rochester Announce Unique Collaboration

The YMCA of Greater Rochester and UR Medicine held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 20,650-square-foot addition to the Eastside Family YMCA, and formally announced their wellness partnership. Located at 1835 Nine Mile Point Road in the town of Penfield, the Eastside Family YMCA will be the first medical and wellness complex of its kind in the Northeast, and one of the largest YMCAs in the United States. The expansion will allow YMCA and UR Medicine to share resources and leverage unique assets, resulting in new services and offerings for the entire community with an emphasis on a convenient, high-quality continuum of care.

The Eastside Family YMCA’s significant expansion will include a broader offering of services, such as a new stadium-tiered spinning room, new two-story youth and family gymnasium, a sports performance center, expanded community space for seniors and on-site physical therapy. A group exercise high-intensity studio, expanded wellness space for cardio fitness and stretching, and a designated program space for the Y’s signature chronic disease prevention initiatives will also be added as part of this expansion.

UR Medicine will occupy 6,000 square feet of the new space, offering services such as primary care for children and adults; occupational therapy; preventive care with flu vaccinations, biometric screenings, nutrition education, and disease interventions and management; and access to sports rehab and physical therapy specialists. Providers will represent a wide range of UR Medicine departments and programs: Primary Care, Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the School of Nursing, and the Center for Community Health’s Healthy Living Center. These services will be available to the entire Greater Rochester community.

“We are fortunate to partner with UR Medicine and create a health and wellness complex that provides the community an easy to access location where everyone, from infants to seniors, can be served,” said George Romell, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Rochester. “The YMCA is more than ‘just gym and swim,’ and we will have the opportunity to improve the livelihood and well-being of even more individuals in our community. Collaboration is at an all-time high, and we will continue to grow and serve more individuals and families in the Greater Rochester area, together with UR Medicine.”

“UR Medicine and the YMCA share the same mission: to promote health and wellness — so it makes perfect sense to work together to help the community get healthier,” said UR Medicine CEO Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. “The broad range of services will offer wellness and health care options for individuals who are interested in proactively improving their health, and prevention is a key focus of both the YMCA and UR Medicine.”

The YMCA of Greater Rochester and UR Medicine share the mission of providing health and wellness services that are focused on improving population health. YMCAs across the nation are partnering with health care providers to share resources and leverage unique assets resulting in services with an emphasis on a continuum of care that is convenient and high-quality. Fifty-one percent (1270) of YMCA facilities across the United States report having a partnership with a health care entity in their communities. With program collaborations going on for years, the trend today is moving toward more complex, joint ventures that involve facility construction, renovation and integration of medical wellness services, such as this partnership in Greater Rochester.

The relationship between the YMCA and the University of Rochester began years ago as the broader YMCA of Greater Rochester sought opportunities to work with local organizations to complement services the Y already provides at its 14 facilities throughout Monroe County. The organization’s partnership with UR Medicine has grown consistently stronger over the years, through educational programs, summer camps and influenza clinics. Over the past year, UR Medicine has partnered with the Eastside YMCA to offer popular consumer health talks to Y members.

“We focus on bringing a wide range of programs and services to our members that will help them get and stay healthy,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Eastside Family YMCA. “This expansion and partnership is a win-win for all involved: the Y team, UR Medicine team and the entire Greater Rochester community. We will share the progress with our community until the days our doors open at the expanded facility. Everyone can expect big things, and we are so thankful and humbled for this opportunity.”

The new services provided by UR Medicine will be offered to the entire community, including those who are not current YMCA members. There will be a new entrance, separate from the current YMCA entrance, so individuals who are not Y members but are seeking care from UR Medicine providers can walk right into the UR Medicine offices. The expansion is expected to be completed in early 2015.

The YMCA of Greater Rochester is one of the area’s leading nonprofits, committed to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility for 160 years. As a dedicated association of staff, volunteers, donors, partners, and allies, the Y is steadfast in its mission to build healthy, confident, connected, and secure children, adults, families, and communities throughout the greater Rochester area. The YMCA of Greater Rochester serves more than 128,000 men, women, and children annually regardless of age, income, or background through health and fitness memberships, wellness programs, child care services, camps, youth sports, and aquatics instruction. To find out more about how to join or support your local Y, visit rochesterymca.org.

UR Medicine is the University of Rochester’s health care system. It includes Strong Memorial Hospital and its inpatient and outpatient components such as Golisano Children’s Hospital, Wilmot Cancer Center, and Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group, Highland Hospital, Thompson Health, Eastman Dental, The Highlands at Brighton, The Highlands Living Center, Visiting Nurse Service, and a range of clinical programs serving patients across western New York.