Video courtesy  Students in 农夫导航鈥檚 Doctor of Physical Therapy program are helping support elder wellness in an innovative new partnership with . The program, 鈥淪trive to Thrive,鈥� is designed to promote healthy aging through the use of technologies like virtual reality, motion/balance sensors, high-tech clothing and more.  Located in Louisville鈥檚 NuLu neighborhood, The Thrive Center is a nonprofit education center whose mission is to help people aged 50 and older live healthier lives through the use of technology. The collaboration with Bellarmine physical therapy students is designed to help seniors prevent falls, improve balance and live independently. 鈥淚 heard about the Bellarmine program with Thrive so I immediately signed up and I鈥檓 glad I did,鈥� said Hiram Hogg, a participant who suffered a spinal cord injury in 1981. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I could do it myself but I can. More important is my confidence level, where I find myself going to a museum where I would have sat it out, now I feel comfortable walking on those long, smooth floors,鈥� he said.  The program is also helpful to those who haven鈥檛 suffered an injury like Hogg鈥檚. 鈥淚 used to say, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 in my upper seventies and I don鈥檛 need to be that strong,鈥欌�� said Dottie Lockhart, another participant in the program. 鈥淣ow I feel like I can do anything. I don鈥檛 need to slow down or give up.鈥� The students, too, get tremendous benefit from the program. Caroline Coleman, a third year physical therapy student from Mississippi, said she was attracted to Bellarmine because of the physical therapy program鈥檚 service-learning clinics. 鈥淭his program has been phenomenal,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were able to design and program a framework that is sustainable and that physical therapy students in the next cohorts can step in and continue. That鈥檚 so important because they鈥檒l be doing this for other people in Louisville. There is a need for this in the community.鈥� Coleman, who didn鈥檛 know a soul when she moved to Louisville, also valued the interpersonal and networking aspects of the program. 鈥淲e sought to boost the participants鈥� mental and physical well-being and they offered me just as much support,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e love and adore every single one of our participants. It was one of the most meaningful experiences I鈥檝e ever had. I鈥檓 very grateful to Bellarmine and to Thrive.鈥�  In addition to this collaboration, several faculty members and students from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program have worked collaboratively with the Thrive team on a number of research projects, said Dr. Tony Brosky, dean of Bellarmine鈥檚 School of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences. 鈥淲e鈥檝e conducted several small clinical projects in cooperation with the Thrive Center that have involved gait and balance screenings, assessment of handgrip strength, the effectiveness of orthotic inserts on balance, and physiologic effects of cold and compression,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think we are just at the beginning stages of this exciting partnership.鈥�