Rochester couple donates $5M to Rochester Regional Health

Rochester, New York — Rochester Regional Health received $5M from a couple.

RRH will create the Di Francesco Urology Institute in their honor.

After Olindo Di Francesco’s positive experience with Dr. John Valvo, chief of robotic surgery at Rochester Regional Health, Olindo and Filomena Di Francesco were spurred to make the contribution.

“Money doesn’t mean anything if you can’t do things to help others,” Olindo Di Francesco said in a statement.

“Dr. John Valvo saved my life, and I wanted to do anything I could to give back to Rochester Regional Health.”

The Di Francesco Urology Institute will feature what RRH bills as a state-of-the-art outpatient urologic operating room.

“More than half a million Americans seek medical treatment for kidney stone problems every year and this new laser system will allow us to deliver faster and more efficient care to our patients, breaking the stones in less than half the time it would typically take,” said Dr. Louis Eichel, chief of urology, in a statement.

“This gets patients back on their feet faster.”

The Di Francesco are known in the community for their Italian supermarket and philanthropic donations to St. Padre Pio Chapel, as well.

According to RRH, it will be able to offer Olympus Plasma technology and Narrow Band Imaging technologies, thanks for the couple’s generosity.