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Stronger Together: Combination with the Rochester RHIO

The Value of Combining Our Efforts

The Rochester Regional Health Information Organization (RRHIO) and Common Ground Health have come together to drive health improvement and reduce health inequities in the Finger Lakes. This combination reflects the fact that our organizations, our teams, and our community are stronger together.

The combination of Common Ground Health and the Rochester RHIO will bring the two organizations together on equal footing. The Rochester RHIO has the expertise to securely exchange vast amounts of data and strong experience working with providers on clinical innovation projects. Common Ground’s analytical, convening and engagement strengths advance health equity by uncovering insights that can be turned into action in the health system and across our communities.

“Our missions are aligned, and the two organizations have varied but parallel and complementary resources that will be stronger together,” said Marlene Bessette, co-CEO of the new entity, which will be rebranded this spring. “For years, the organizations have partnered, and our experience tells us that having those resources better connected will yield even better results, faster.

“By combining our resources, we will build an innovative organization that robustly bridges data and action,” added Wade Norwood, co-CEO of the new entity. “Our combined organization will continue to be a trusted repository of community and individual health data.”

Finally, the combination of the two organizations will create value by unlocking new opportunities for health care innovation.

“Across the country, we see similar organizations combining, bringing community voice and health record analytics together to improve health outcomes,” Norwood said. “Both Common Ground Health and Rochester RHIO have led the way in innovation and are recognized as national leaders.”

“As we find new ways to work together, we can help the health care system navigate a dynamic future of health discoveries and technological advancements,” Bessette said. “By combining, we are truly stronger together.”

The new entity’s board is made up of nearly all the board members from both of the previous boards.

“We are grateful to the Common Ground and RRHIO board members who have already contributed many to resolving issues allow the combination to take place,” Norwood said.



Frequently Asked Questions

To deliver better outcomes for our community than each could do separately. Our organizations are very different but bringing them together will enhance our joint capabilities and resources. For years, the organizations have partnered, and our experience tells us that having those resources better connected will yield even better results, faster. By combining our resources, we will build an innovative organization that robustly bridges data and action. Both organizations are trusted repositories of community and individual health data, and as one organization, we can utilize that data better for both.

A Combination Agreement is like an affiliation agreement. It creates a new legal structure in which Common Ground Health and Rochester RHIO are part of the same legal entity. It represents the alignment of the two organizations’ missions and visions and a desire to integrate our functions. The new legal model allows for an easier integration of resources and efforts to advance the work both Common Ground and the RHIO do today.

Wade Norwood and Marlene Bessette are Co-CEOs of the new entity. They each bring unique and powerful experiences and skills to bear that are highly complementary.

The former chair of the Common Ground Health Board, Melissa Gardner, will be assuming the role of chair and the former chair of the Rochester RHIO Board, Ann Marie Cook, will be assuming the role of vice-chair. Melissa and Ann Marie have worked closely together throughout this process and will be continuing to do so.

The new combined entity has not been named. Our organization is entering into a deliberate and robust process to establish new branding, including a new name for our Combined entity. In the meantime, each organization will continue to use its historic name and branding.

This is an equal merger of organizations. Both have practices, expertise and knowledge that will benefit the new organization’s efforts. We recognize that the cultures are different and see value in those differences enhancing our work and supporting our joint missions. Our goal is to create a new culture in the merged organization that maximizes the positives of both.

Our current missions are already aligned and we firmly believe that this combination will enhance those missions. We adopted the following vision statement for this effort:

We envision a future where regional health improvement and health equity are realities in every community we serve. Our union is more than a merger; it’s a commitment to creating a sustainable value chain of trusted and expert resources who leverage high quality data analysis and community insights that delivers regional health planning to support and co-create initiatives with our partners to measurably improve health outcomes.

This vision will be used to define the mission of the merged entity.



About Both Organizations

The Rochester Regional Health Information Organization (RRHIO) is a nonprofit providing a secure health and social determinant information exchange to the healthcare community in 14 counties of the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. It offers timely access to information on clinical needs and health related social needs for better decision making that improves patient care and reduces system inefficiencies. The Rochester RHIO currently has 41 employees and an offshore development and support organization in Chenai, India.

Common Ground Health is the nonprofit health research and planning organization for the Rochester-Finger Lakes region. It brings together community members and leaders from health care, education, business, government and other sectors to find common ground on health challenges. Common Ground Health currently has 41 employees.



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