SUNY Upstate IMT

04/03/2026

Upstate Medical University has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an expanded drone flight area across Central New York, marking a significant milestone for the university’s medical drone program.

The newly granted Certificate of Waiver allows Upstate’s drone operator, Air Upstate, to operate drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) across a large operational corridor connecting several of its facilities, including Community Campus, Downtown Campus, the Pathology Institute, the Upstate Cancer Center in Verona, to Utica, along with locations in between. The span from the Upstate Downtown Campus to Utica is approximately 50 miles.

“This is a major achievement for our team and for the future of medical drone operations,” said Upstate University Hospital Chief Executive Officer Robert Corona, DO, MBA. “Approvals of this scale are very uncommon, and the FAA granting the full scope of what we requested positions Upstate in a unique and privileged position to continue advancing innovative solutions that improve patient care.”

Read more:

Waiver allows beyond-visual-line-of-sight medical drone flights connecting multiple healthcare facilities.

02/16/2026

Last week, Upstate Medical University's IMT Telecom & Information Security department met to present a road mapping and strategy session with Upstate CIO/CISO, Mark Zeman.

“I continue to be thoroughly impressed with the dedication and expertise of our Telecom and Information Security department. While it might go without saying, the work that this team does is deeply embedded in virtually all projects and initiatives in the organization, even if it’s not always the most visible aspect of what IMT does. The amount of work they currently undertake and knowing their upcoming roadmap of projects reflects Upstate’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve, thoughtfully leveraging proven, emerging technologies to strengthen our infrastructure, safeguard our organization, and ultimately advance our missions for patient care, education, and research. I am incredibly proud of the team’s vision, discipline, and dedication in positioning Upstate for continued success,” says Mark Zeman, Upstate Medical University CIO/CISO.

The Telecom & Information Security department consists of: Networking Services & Infrastructure, Voice Communications, Campus Protection Management, Identity & Access Management, SailPoint and Cybersecurity.

02/11/2026

Upstate Medical University chief information officer (CIO) and chief information security officer (CISO), Mark Zeman, has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review 2026 list of hospital and health system CIO’s to know. Zeman was named CIO at Upstate in 2019 and, additionally, CISO in 2025.

According to Becker’s, the executives featured on this list drive forward-thinking strategies that create meaningful improvements for both patients and providers. In close collaboration with their teams, they are modernizing hospitals and health systems through initiatives such as EHR enhancements, AI integration, strengthened cybersecurity frameworks and more.

https://www.upstate.edu/imt/news/2026-02-11-ciotoknow.php

02/04/2026

“The digital divide is real; we see this in areas where the lack of high-speed internet access or a smart device can be a real barrier to patients receiving the health care they need,” said Margie Greenfield, program manager with Upstate’s Information Management and Technology department. “Our goal is to expand access to care by making telehealth truly equitable, ensuring technology is not what stands between patients and the care they need.”

As part of a five-year $2.4 million grant from the State Health Department, Upstate Medical University plans to expand telehealth services through the implementation of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and creation of Telehealth Access Points (TAPs). These initiatives will be completed over five years to strengthen access to care, improve health outcomes for individuals with chronic conditions, and reducing strain on the healthcare system.

As part of a five-year $2.4 million grant from the State Health Department, Upstate Medical University plans to expand telehealth services through the implementation of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and creation of Telehealth Access Points (TAPs).

01/08/2026

A new Upstate-initiated research study, published in the journal 'Drones', examines how efficiently drones with varying levels of autonomy perform when working alongside human operators in challenging environments such as rural areas with limited roads, weak communications, or difficult terrain.

This empirical research study was conducted by Gwendolyn Morgan during her tenure working with the Autonomous Machines department at Upstate Medical University, under the supervision of advisors from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Martha Grabowski, PhD and Selmer Bringsjord, PhD.

🗞 Read more: https://www.upstate.edu/imt/news/2026-1-08-droneresearch.php

12/09/2025

Foundry's Computerworld announces Upstate Medical University as one of the 2026 Best Places to Work in IT. This award recognizes the top organizations that challenge their IT staff while providing great benefits and compensation. In their second year appearing on the list, Upstate was ranked No. 25 among large organizations (5,000+ employees), rising 10 places from its 2025 ranking. Upstate also ranked 10th in career development and training on the list.

“This recognition validates the culture our Information Management and Technology (IMT) team has worked so hard to build,” said Mark Zeman, Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer at Upstate Medical University. “Our success comes from empowering our people, encouraging ideas, supporting growth, and creating a space where everyone feels valued. We’re proud to be recognized again among the world’s top IT workplaces, and even more proud of the people who make it possible.”

View the full article: https://www.upstate.edu/imt/news/2025-12-09-bestplaces2026.php

10/31/2025

Many IMT teams (and robots 🤖) were able to take part in Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital Halloween village and parade today. Teams from around Upstate gathered to create 60 treat stations for pediatric patients at Golisano to trick or treat through!

10/27/2025

✨IMT Faces in the News: Allison White ✨

Allison White, Upstate Medical University’s executive director of clinical equipment life cycle management, was featured in the September/October 2025 American College of Clinical Engineering ( ACCE ) ‘Women in Clinical Engineering’ newsletter segment. The newsletter segment highlighted the journey of two extraordinary clinical engineers who have been contributing members to the profession, Allison White and Carolyn Mahoney, from Sigman Health Consulting.

📰 Read more about Allison’s career journey in Clinical Engineering and her impactful role at Upstate:

https://www.upstate.edu/imt/news/2025-10-27-white-acce.php

10/24/2025

We’re proud to see Upstate Nursing leaders Scott Jessie, Chief Nursing Officer, and Tracy Briguglia, Associate Director of Nursing, featured on NewsChannel 9 to talk about our growing virtual nursing program.

While “virtual” might sound like it replaces in-person care, at Upstate Medical University it does the opposite…it enhances it. We’ve added experienced Upstate nurses to support patients through virtual admission and discharge, helping to divide and conquer the many tasks associated with these important processes of a hospital stay.

Here’s how it works:

➡️ Virtual nurses are highly skilled and experienced Upstate nurses who will handle documentation, patient education, and administrative tasks.

➡️ Bedside nurses focus on hands-on care like assessments, vitals, and direct patient support.

By working as a unified team, both nurses can do what they do best, delivering safe, individualized, patient-centered care.

Want to learn more? Watch the segment on NewsChannel 9:

Interview: Upstate Hospital utilizes virtual nursing to help with staff shortages

10/22/2025

IMT’s program manager, Margie Greenfield, was quoted in a Syracuse.com article about Upstate’s virtual admission and discharge programs. For the past two and a half years, Margie, who is part of Upstate’s Program Management Office, has been working closely with staff across Upstate’s ecosystem to help expand virtual nursing initiatives.

Program managers are a crucial component of the Information Management Technology department and serve Upstate as a whole, overseeing large-scale projects. They coordinate teams, manage timelines, track progress, solve problems, and communicate between stakeholders to ensure all stakeholders work together to achieve a larger strategic outcome.

While virtual admissions and discharges are optional for patients, it can ultimately save 30 to 45 minutes off the process, making it a popular choice for patients. Virtual nurses are registered nurses that work alongside bedside (in-person) nurses to improve the care and experience during a patients’ hospital stay. While there are many tasks a nurse must do in person, some tasks such as admission/discharge assessments, documentation, care plans, patient/family education, real time surveillance of results for patients including labs and vital signs, and rounding can be performed virtually.

Since the rollout of the virtual nurses, the hospital estimates it has also saved more than 1,400 hours of work for bedside nurses, allowing them to focus on in-person assessments and care while the more administrative tasks are handled by the virtual nurses.

https://www.syracuse.com/health/2025/10/getting-admitted-to-upstates-er-in-syracuse-the-virtual-nurse-will-see-you-now.html

Upstate is changing part of its admitting and discharging system to free up nurses to provide more bedside care at its hospitals.

10/02/2025

Celebrating 50,000 Robot Deliveries at Upstate! 🎉🤖

We hit an incredible milestone — 50,000 deliveries completed by our hospital robots (TUGs)!

A TUG is a mobile hauling robot designed to specialize in autonomous delivery. They are used within Upstate’s hospitals to deliver supplies, lab specimens, medications, and meals while reducing the physical workloads and risk of injury of our staff.

These robot deliveries have done more than just move supplies; they’ve transformed how our teams work. Over 7,500 miles of walking have been saved for our staff, giving them more time to focus on patient care and their daily responsibilities.

We hit an incredible milestone — 50,000 deliveries completed by our hospital robots (TUGs)!