Rochester, N.Y. — University of Rochester Medicine is celebrating a milestone.
Shane Pitts, Strong Memorial Hospital's 400th heart transplant recipient, speaks during a press conference at the hospital Thursday, June 4, 2026. Shane Pitts recently became the recipient of the 400th heart transplant performed at Strong Memorial Hospital, the only heart transplantation center in Upstate New York.
"I didn't really take heed to it," he said. "I kind of got myself up and collected myself and headed home. But over the course of about a week, I started not feeling well — as far as running out of air, running out of breath wherever I walked to.
""I told my wife one day, 'You've got to get me to the hospital,'" Pitts said. "I went into Highland Hospital to start with, and they told me I had congestive heart failure. " Pitts continued with various treatments over the years, eventually learning he needed a heart transplant. "It's definitely been an emotional ride," he said.
"I am very, very thankful for all the care that I've received, all the doctors that kind of pushed me because, I can't lie, I wasn't really ready for a transplant. " Pitts said he spent three and a half months in intensive care awaiting a transplant. Once a donor was found, he went in for his transplant the next day.
"I feel better today than I have felt in the last six years, and I'm 14 days post-surgery," Pitts said. "I feel great. "Five displaced after a fast-moving house fire on Dewey Road in Manchester, N.Y. Flames had fully engulfed the home when crews arrived.
No one was home and no injuries reported, but two family dogs remain unaccounted for. The body of a missing woman from the city was found last month in Yates County and later ruled a homicide, the Rochester Police Department announced Wednesday. A new photography policy at the George Eastman Museum is drawing pushback from local photographers after the museum announced it will begin charging hundreds of dollars per hour for photo sessions on its property.
No injuries were reported after a large pile of pallets caught fire in the Lyell-Otis neighborhood, according to the Rochester Fire Department.
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