University of Rochester Medicine Strong Memorial Hospital (Strong) has always been the place where Rochester and its surrounding communities come for lifesaving emergency care, advanced treatments, complex surgeries, mental health support, and the expertise of teams who bring academic medicine to the bedside every day.
Now, Strong is undergoing a historic expansion to create the modern clinical spaces needed to meet growing demand across the region. When complete, it will be one of the largest hospitals in the country, with more than 950 beds and over 200 ED examination and treatment stations.
Through new support for the Strong Expansion Project as part of For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester, community leaders Don and Leslie Tomeny, the Building Brighter Days Foundation, and Marty and Darcy Mucci are helping advance one of the most significant investments in healthcare infrastructure in the region and the largest capital project in the University’s history.
The need is urgent. Strong’s Emergency Department—originally designed to handle 66,000 visits a year—now sees more than 110,000 visits annually. As home to the Kessler Burn & Trauma Center, the Finger Lakes region’s only Level 1 trauma center, and as a safety-net hospital serving more than 2 million people across more than 15 counties, Strong must be ready for the needs of today and the demands of tomorrow.
The Strong Expansion Project will create more than 650,000 square feet of new clinical space, including a nine-story inpatient bed tower, expanded cardiovascular diagnostic and treatment areas, and emergency services, including psychiatric emergency care. The Emergency Department alone will grow to 120,000 square feet with the capacity to serve more than 130,000 visits each year. The project will ultimately address chronic bed shortages and overcrowding issues that the community has faced for years.
An updated Strong Memorial Hospital will allow us to provide critical emergency care and diagnose and treat our patients in more modern, comfortable spaces. The expansion will allow for the latest technology to better serve the health needs of everyone across our region—people who deserve the best quality care available. -Kathy Parrinello, president and CEO of Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital
With the generosity of visionary donors, including Rochester business leaders Peter J. Landers ’83 (MS) and Kathleen “Kathy” E. Landers ’82, who named the adult waiting room in the soon-to-be-expanded emergency department, University of Rochester Medicine is building a hospital that strengthens access, inspires, supports innovation, and helps recruit and retain top medical talent. Their collective generosity reflects a shared belief that access to exceptional care is essential to the health, strength, and future of the region.
The Building Brighter Days Foundation has long focused on helping children and families across the Rochester region access the programs, services, and support they need to thrive. Through its community involvement, the foundation has made possible initiatives that promote children’s well-being, mental health, education, literacy, the arts, and essential services.
That dedication now extends to the Strong Expansion Project through the foundation’s commitment to the Pediatric Emergency Department waiting room, which will help create a more welcoming, child-friendly environment for young patients and their loved ones.
“Families need compassionate, age-appropriate emergency care close to home,” says Kathy York, director of the foundation. “This project will help create a space where children and their loved ones feel a greater sense of security, comfort, and care during stressful medical visits.”
Marty and Darcy Mucci have aligned their giving with the broader needs of the Strong Expansion Project, helping University of Rochester Medicine create the space, technology, and clinical environment needed to serve more patients and the people who care for them.
For the Muccis, the Strong Expansion Project represents both a response to a long-standing community need and an investment in the region’s future, particularly in the lives of children. Their backing is rooted in the belief that a thriving community depends on the health of its people—and that access to world-class medicine close to home helps make Greater Rochester and the broader Upstate New York region a vibrant, safe, and healthy place to live, work, and raise families.
“Access to world-class medical care is critical to a thriving community,” says Marty. “This project is a transformative step forward. In addition to wanting families to be able to arrive at a modern, state-of-the-art environment that offers immediate comfort, we also want to support the incredible doctors and nurses by giving them the advanced facilities they deserve to accomplish what they do best—which is to save lives.”
For Don and Leslie Tomeny, giving is grounded in a simple belief: When people have the resources to help, they should. The couple’s generosity will fund a suite in the Pediatric Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, helping to create a more therapeutic environment for children and families experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
The Tomenys have a long history of commitment to Golisano Children’s pediatric behavioral health, family support services, and programs that help children and families through some of life’s most difficult moments. Their philanthropy has been shaped by seeing firsthand how the right environment can change the experience for families facing serious illness or crisis.
“You can’t take it with you,” says Don. “If you have the ability to help others, it would be a shame not to.” He adds that his giving has been shaped by moments that are impossible to forget, including seeing children facing cancer treatment. “When you see what children and families are going through, it stays with you,” he says. “You realize how important it is to help when you can.”
While each gift champions a distinct part of the Strong Expansion Project, together these donors share a common vision: better access, more supportive environments for patients and families, and modern spaces that allow exceptional care teams to do their best work.
This is a defining moment for University of Rochester Medicine Strong Memorial Hospital and for healthcare in the region. By leading with generosity, donors are helping create a hospital environment worthy of the extraordinary care delivered inside it—and inspiring others to help shape the future of care for generations to come.
For Ever Better
You can make a difference now, and for years to come, in the health and well-being of people of all ages across the region by advancing the expansion of Strong Memorial Hospital.
For more information, please contact Taylor Brown, Assistant Vice President of Advancement, at (585) 275-5880 or taylor.brown@rochester.edu
—Emily Gillette, June 2026