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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

Former public health director helps launch new healthcare model in Rochester

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published August 4, 2026 at 3:49 PM EDT
Three smiling men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short brown hair and is wearing a blue and white plaid button-down shirt; a man at center has short black hair and is wearing glasses and a black shirt under a dark grey suit coat; a man at right has very short dark hair and is wearing glasses and a blue button-down shirt
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(left to right) Brian Sharp and Michael Mendoza with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Megan Mack / WXXI News
A smiling man with short grey hair, wearing a white collared shirt, a gold tie, and a black suit coat
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Daniel J. Marino
Provided
WXXI News

Dr. Michael Mendoza is the senior medical director for the new Town Square Health Rochester office. The practice caters to seniors and recently began accepting patients. As reported by WXXI's Brian Sharp, the goal is to bring a new model for healthcare to the region, focused on prevention and lower costs. Dr. Mendoza discusses how it works and whether it can be a solution for the ongoing problems in the American healthcare system. In studio:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
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Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams