St. Bonaventure University has been awarded a $120,199 grant from the Institute for Technology in Health Care (ITHC) to strengthen hands-on education, research and community outreach through advanced health care technologies aimed at improving rural health outcomes.

The grant supports a new initiative — “Technology-Enhanced Cardiometabolic, Rehabilitation and Communication Therapy Training for Rural Health” — within the university’s Dennis R. DePerro School of Health Professions, reinforcing the school’s growing role as a regional leader in technology-enabled healthcare workforce development.

Funding will be used to acquire specialized equipment that strengthens training for students in Physician Assistant Studies, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Public Health, while also expanding community-based services.

“This investment allows us to move beyond traditional training models and immerse students in the technologies shaping the future of health care, while ensuring those innovations reach rural communities that are too often left behind,” said Dr. Swagata Banik, dean of the DePerro School. “ITHC’s support helps us prepare practice-ready graduates who can deliver high-quality, technology-enabled care where it’s needed most.”

The ITHC funding will support the purchase of five complementary technologies: a BodPod body composition system, iWorx physiology kits, an Emotiv EEG system, a Neuro Sensorimotor Integrator and virtual reality platforms.

Together, these tools will support education and research related to cardiometabolic health, rehabilitation sciences and communication therapy, while also enabling free health screenings and prevention education in rural Western New York.

The award builds on the success of a previous ITHC-funded Anatomage Table awarded to St. Bonaventure in 2023. That technology has been used to train more than 300 students, support interprofessional learning and host regional educational events. The new grant advances that foundation by focusing on applied practice, rehabilitation and community-based services.

Equipment funded through the grant will be integrated across core coursework and interprofessional training across five School of Health Professions programs, benefiting more than 400 students annually. Faculty and students will also collaborate on research projects examining cardiometabolic risk, rehabilitation outcomes, communication disorders and social determinants of health, with results shared through professional presentations and publications.

A central pillar of the project is community engagement. The technologies will support community-based outreach activities, including health screenings, functional assessments, and prevention education across Western New York — areas with high chronic disease burden and federal Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designation.

In addition, the project will support pipeline programs for high school and undergraduate students, offering hands-on exposure to health technologies and careers through school visits, community events and campus outreach.

The ITHC is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that supports the application of innovative technologies to address health care challenges.

“This investment reflects a shared commitment to applying technology with purpose and compassion,” Banik said. “It strengthens healthcare education today while preparing the next generation of professionals to serve where they are needed most.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #8 for value and #19 overall by U.S. News and World Report (2025).