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RIT Opens Health Science Center

RIT Clinical Health Sciences Center
RIT photo by A. Sue Weisler
RIT Clinical Health Sciences Center

RIT opened its new Clinical Health Sciences Center Friday.

The Center is a 45-thousand square foot addition to the north end of Louise Slaughter Hall. It will be home to the Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition and student programs in behavioral health, ultrasound and physician's assistant.

A doctor's office and clinic will open October 19 as part of RIT’s partnership with Rochester Regional Health. Primary and walk-in care will be available to RIT employees and the community. A laboratory blood-draw station will also open.

RIT President Bill Destler says “Under one roof, we will have state-of-the-art lecture rooms, simulation space and a regular, walk-in, urgent care clinic, operated by Rochester Regional Health. Our students will participate and observe what goes on there as an educational process as well."

Destler and Rochester Regional Health President and CEO Dr. Eric Bieber say their partnership, called the RIT and Rochester Regional Health Alliance, hopes to influence the future of health care.

RIT student Vivian Nguyen is in the physician’s assistant program, training in the emergency department at Rochester General Hospital.

"I spend my entire day at the hospital,” she said. “I get to see patients and work with them individually. I go in, talk with the psychiatrist or go in later with the psych assessment officers. That way I'm able to learn how to interact with patients and also get that clinical experience."

Bieber explains that the new primary care office is about connecting wellness care, preventative care, chronic and acute care.

"It fits nicely in juxtaposition to the nutrition center that is here, which the Wegmans have been so influential in supporting, with the physicians' assistant program - training the next generation of health care providers for this community and elsewhere, and for the ultrasonography (ultrasound) program."

The facilities are truly beautiful and having access to all of these patient beds and all the different medical equipment is very exciting.

RIT student Vivian Nguyen

Bieber says Dr. Eric Wilcox is relocating his practice from Bushnell’s Basin to run the family medicine practice in the new Health Sciences Center.

Rep. Louise Slaughter was invited to join the ribbon-cutting.

RIT President Bill Destler says there will be more coming from the partnership that's existed since 2008.

"You're going to see more programs. You're going to see more interactions. You're going to see special programs we will craft for their personnel to keep them abreast of the latest developments. You're going to see their involvement in our students' lives. It's going to be a very exciting adventure for both of us."

RIT offers a photo and video tour of the new facility