Five Star Bank the wholly-owned group financial institution subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), and the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) introduced an revolutionary partnership meant to increase well being care entry in rural communities in Upstate New York.

Through the initiative, choose Five Star Bank department areas in Steuben and Seneca Counties are putting in Higi well being stations that permit customers to measure and observe key well being indicators, together with blood strain and weight. As a part of this pilot program, the stations will facilitate stay, on-demand telehealth appointments with URMC suppliers within the close to future.

Five Star Bank and UR Medicine issued a news release with extra particulars earlier in the present day.

Branches chosen for the initiative are situated in communities with few locally-based well being care suppliers, and the place many residents lack prepared entry to the web at house. Officials of each establishments mentioned they believed that is the primary time a well being system has partnered with a monetary establishment to offer entry to care by way of telemedicine-equipped well being stations.

“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,” mentioned 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.”