SCITUATE, R.I., October 6, 2026 – The Scituate School Department is expanding healthcare education opportunities for students across the district after receiving a $318,191 Year One investment from Rhode Island Department of Education’s (RIDE) Rural Health Transformation grant. The grant will be used to strengthen Scituate High School’s successful Biomedical Science Academy with new healthcare areas of study, and innovative state-of-the-art technology. The grant will also support developing a kindergarten through twelfth grade pathway that connects students to healthcare careers beginning in elementary school.
“We want students to see themselves pursuing healthcare professions, and graduating with the knowledge, experience, confidence, and connections to take their next steps,” said Superintendent Linda Savastano. “We are building programs that grow with all of our students and prepare them to contribute to the health of the communities they call home.”
The investment will support the development of new CTE pathways within the high school’s Biomedical Science Academy. SHS has begun taking steps to apply for a community health and emergency medical response pathway, and a sports medicine pathway that will focus on physical therapy.
Scituate will also begin implementing a K–12 approach that supports the broader goals of Rhode Island's Rural Health Transformation Initiative by helping develop local talent and introduce students to career opportunities that contribute to the health and workforce needs of rural communities.
Superintendent Savastano explained: “At the elementary level, we will see more crossover learning opportunities similar to the annual Teddy Bear Clinic, where students from the high school use play-based experiences to teach our youngest learners about healthcare in an age appropriate way. We will also be bringing the HOSA - Future Healthcare Professionals program to the middle school, so that students can get involved earlier. ”
Scituate plans to use the funding to bring a myriad of new technologies to the high school’s Biomedical Science Academy including a mobile ambulance simulation environment, known as a SimRig. SimRigs provide students with immersive settings that replicate the inner workings of ambulances so students can get hands-on experience in emergency response.
“The SimRig will be an integral part of the Biomedical Science Academy at Scituate,” said Biomedical Science Academy instructor Rachel Roberge. “Our high school students will be able to practice skills in a realistic setting, and the SimRig will be used as a mobile tool to teach our school community about emergency medical responses.”
The high school will also add several new Anatomage Tablets to the program. The touch-responsive, 3D anatomy visualization devices are used by students as a hands-on learning tool to explore human body systems and clinical responses. The high school currently has twelve Anatomage tablets that were paid for through a generous grant from the Hayden Foundation, as well as two Anatomage tables that are used to show a life-sized human body display that represents a real-life operating table.
Roberge noted, “At SHS, our Biomedical Science Academy is in a very strong place. We are diligent in selecting high quality programs, like Anatomage, and we utilize HOSA, which is an amazing work-based learning program. Our students are consistently attending HOSA’s International Leadership Conferences and placing in the top 10.”
The decision to bring the high school’s successful HOSA chapter to the middle school was informed by a conversation with students who recently graduated, and expressed how important they felt it was to have the opportunity to participate in the program earlier. That enthusiasm is already evident, as approximately 40 middle school students have expressed interest in participating in HOSA and the Biomedical Science Academy.
“We may be a small school, but we are committed to creating expansive opportunities for our students,” said SHS principal Michael Hassell. “When students tell us what they’re interested in and what they want to pursue, we have an opportunity to listen and find ways to make their aspirations more accessible to them. Bringing HOSA to the middle school is one example of that.”
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For more information about Scituate High School please reach out to Principal Michael Hassell at michael.hassell@scituateschoolsri.net.