ST. BONAVENTURE — A cadre of students in the Dennis R. DePerro School of Health Professions at St. Bonaventure University have partnered with the Cattaraugus County Health Department for the past two semesters to help improve the health of local residents.
Last fall, the university received a $250,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to provide health care education in Cattaraugus County, a region with some of the highest rates of preventable diseases in New York state.
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers.
Through the internship program, 10 students during the spring semester and four students during the summer helped develop educational outreach for various populations from youth to seniors in the county. A team of 10 interns have begun outreach this fall.
The students, whose majors have included Public Health, Health Science, Nursing and Occupational Therapy, are trained and mentored by Health Department staff and grant director Natalie Marasco.
Among the wellness initiatives were presentations on heart-healthy living, eating healthy on a budget, fall prevention, diabetes/arthritis education, mindfulness and summer safety health tips. The college students also completed a series of topics focused on the teen population at the Olean library, including healthy relationships, smoking and vaping, stress management, nutrition and healthy eating, and self-care.
Dr. Claire Watson, founding director of the Public Health, Health Science, and Master of Public Health programs at St. Bonaventure, said connecting classroom lessons and theory to application within a community is vital to ensure SBU students are prepared for health careers.
“Since education is the cornerstone of medicine and health promotion, these opportunities provide an enhanced understanding of what the health needs are in our county and feasible strategies of how to address them,” Watson said. “Our students are embracing these experiences and we are very proud of the work they accomplished in the first two semesters of the grant.”
Marasco sees how the Mother Cabrini Grant provides the students with the opportunity to gain real-world learning experiences while improving the health of community members in Cattaraugus County.
“The student interns have truly exceeded my expectations with their positive energy and passion to influence the health behaviors of the community members we served,” Marasco said.
The students delivered programming to all age and socioeconomic levels at libraries, senior centers, assisted living organizations, day programs for people with developmental disabilities, the Olean YMCA, senior wellness and nutrition sites, Catholic Charities, community centers and on campus.
For Public Health major Brooke Dudek, who is a senior at SBU, delivering wellness outreach at Intandem in Olean was a rewarding experience that opened her eyes to working with people with different health conditions.
“The Cabrini grant has allowed me to have these life-changing experiences and opportunities and I am forever grateful,” Dudek said.
Public Health major Kevin Eberth enjoyed his summer internship so much he asked to continue it this fall.
“Through my internship I have learned a lot about public health in general and the health challenges in Cattaraugus County specifically. I am especially grateful to the team at the Cattaraugus County Health Department for sharing their expertise and mentorship as this relationship continues,” he said.