November 9th, 2023, Rochester, N.y -
Select Five Star Bank locations will introduce health stations to expand access in rural communities to key health measures and providers.
Five Star Bank, the wholly-owned community bank subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), and the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) announced an innovative partnership intended to expand health care access in rural communities in Upstate New York.
Through the initiative, select Five Star Bank branch locations in Steuben and Seneca Counties are installing Higi health stations that allow users to measure and track key health indicators, including blood pressure and weight. As part of this pilot program, the stations will facilitate live, on-demand telehealth appointments with URMC providers in the near future.
Branches selected for the initiative are located in communities with few locally-based health care providers, and where many residents lack ready access to the internet at home. Officials of both institutions said they believed this is the first time a health system has partnered with a financial institution to provide access to care via telemedicine-equipped health stations.
“At Five Star Bank, our commitment to offering bold and innovative solutions to our customers and communities is unwavering. This initiative aligns perfectly with that commitment, and we are proud to partner with URMC to expand access to essential services,” said Five Star Bank President and CEO Martin K. Birmingham. “With a more than 200-year history serving rural communities throughout Upstate New York, we have a deep understanding of the challenges they face, and we understand the link between financial and physical well-being. The opportunity to better our communities in such a unique way was something that we could not pass up.”
URMC’s clinical enterprise, UR Medicine, provides care for hundreds of thousands of patients annually through its hospitals and practices across the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.
“Our goal is to provide patients across Upstate New York access to care as close to home as possible, and we increasingly are applying telemedicine technology to achieve that goal,” said URMC Chief Digital Health Officer Michael Hasselberg. “This approach allows us to align telemedicine care with patients’ existing health providers, or to refer them to a local primary care provider if they do not have one. In some communities, a trusted financial institution may provide an ideal location for residents to access advanced telemedicine services conveniently, and we look forward to exploring that potential with Five Star Bank.”
The health stations will be installed in November in private, enclosed spaces at select Five Star Bank branch locations, including:
- 323 West Washington Street, Bath, NY 14810
- 2168 North Street, NY-96A, Ovid, NY 14521
Five Star Bank and URMC expect to share more information about the functionality of the health stations, as well as the anticipated launch of live, on-demand virtual appointments, in early 2024.
About Five Star Bank and Financial Institutions, Inc.
Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI) is an innovative financial holding company with approximately $6.1 billion in assets offering banking, insurance and wealth management products and services through a network of subsidiaries. Its Five Star Bank subsidiary provides consumer and commercial banking and lending services to individuals, municipalities and businesses throughout Western and Central New York and its Mid-Atlantic commercial loan production office serves the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. region. SDN Insurance Agency, LLC provides a broad range of insurance services to personal and business clients, while Courier Capital, LLC offers customized investment management, financial planning and consulting services to individuals and families, businesses, institutions, non-profits and retirement plans. Learn more at five-starbank.com and FISI-investors.com.
About URMC
The University of Rochester Medical Center forms the centerpiece of the University of Rochester’s health research, teaching and patient care missions. The University’s health care delivery network is anchored by Strong Memorial Hospital, an 886-bed, University-owned teaching hospital designated by the New York State Department of Health as a Level One Regional Trauma and Burn Center for adults and children, and home to Western New York’s only cardiac transplant program. URMC employs more than 2,000 faculty physicians, including many nationally renowned specialists, and trains more than 800 new doctors each year in 26 medical residency and 58 fellowship programs. About half of these trainees enter practice in New York State upon completion of their programs, 80 percent of whom choose to remain in the Finger Lakes region.
Media contacts:
Kate Croft, Director of Investor and External Relations, Five Star Bank - (716)817-5159 / klcroft@five-starbank.com
B. Chip Partner, Assistant VP for Communications, URMC - (585)276-6582 (direct), (585)275-3676 (main), (585)749-0536 (mobile) / Bruce_Partner@URMC.Rochester.edu
