News & Events

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Michael Mendoza today announced the appointment of Center for Community Health & Prevention Director Nancy "Nana" Bennett, MD, MS, as Special Advisor to the Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health. In this role, Dr. Bennett will lead the Monroe County vaccination task force and spearhead Monroe County's COVID-19 vaccination planning and coordination efforts.

The 11th annual Dr. David Satcher Community Health Improvement Awards recognizes University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) faculty and staff for their significant contributions to the health of the greater Rochester area and Finger Lakes region. The annual event, usually held in the spring and celebrated with a major speaker, often Dr. Satcher, was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the awardees' work, in partnership with their community partners, was recognized.

Presented by the Center for Community Health & Prevention (CCHP), the awards reflect the mission of the CCHP and the URMC to develop and expand community-university partnerships that support community-engaged research and interventions that reduce health inequities and improve the community's health.

David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., 16^th surgeon general of the United States, a URMC alum and the awards' namesake, is a leading voice in public health and has been an integral advisor to the University in helping move this mission forward.

The New York State Emerging Infections Program, a collaboration between the Center for Community Health & Prevention of URMC, the New York State Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), contributed early surveillance data to "Hospitalization Rates and Characteristics of Patients Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1--30, 2020," a recently published study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), published by the CDC.

Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, professor of Medicine and Director of the Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Prevention program at the Center for Community Health & Prevention, is a co-author of a recently published study "Trends in U.S. Burden of Clostridiodes difficile Infection and Outcomes" in The New England Journal of Medicine. The surveillance for C. difficile infections was performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emerging Infections Program across 10 state sites, including Monroe County, NY. The study showed a 36% decrease in the national burden of C. difficile infections from 476,400 cases in 2011 to 365,200 cases in 2017. The decrease was driven by a reduction in C. difficile infections in the hospitals and long-term care facilities, however, the burden was unchanged in the community associated cases. The authors recommend to improve the adherence to recommended infection prevention measures to control the spread of this infection and to optimize the use of antibiotics in both inpatient and outpatient settings to reduce the susceptibility to C. difficile infection.

The University of Rochester is among 119 colleges and universities in the United States to receive 2020 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation that indicates institutional commitment to community engagement. This is the first time that the University has earned the classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Rochester is now one of 359 nationwide to hold the distinction. The Carnegie workgroup was co-led by Theresa Green, director of Community Health Policy and Education at our Center, and Glenn Cerosaletti, assistant dean of students and director of the Rochester Center for Community Leadership.

Our Workforce Navigation Programs, including the Teen Health and Success Partnership and Rochester Health Profession Opportunity Grants, were recognized Jan. 27 for making a positive difference in the lives of urban youth and entry-level employees while adding value to the University and demonstrating ICARE values.

URMC Board Chair Thomas S. Richards led the ceremony honoring nine individuals, six teams and three Robert Joynt Kindness Award winners from across our Medical Center. The annual Board Excellence Awards honor and acknowledge the unparalleled care provided each day by our support staff, clinicians, nurses and physicians to their patients and colleagues.

Learn more about the Workforce Navigation Programs.

A new year often inspires change and new goals. Our team of physicians, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, exercise specialists, and lifestyle counselors work with individuals to realize their health goals and make changes they can maintain for life. Some team members shared their expertise, from healthy eating to stopping smoking, with Channel 8 viewers during "Putting You First: Start the Year Healthy."

Watch the interviews here.