Nursing students at Elmhurst University will train on mannequins that sweat, bleed and talk back, funded by a $950,000 federal grant awarded for the school's Health Sciences Building.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, who represents Illinois' 6th Congressional District, secured the money through the Community Project Funding process for fiscal year 2026. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) administers the funds. Casten and university leaders held a check presentation ceremony on the Elmhurst University campus Sept. 10 to mark the award, according to the Elmhurst Independent.
The grant will pay for 3D anatomy tables that display high-resolution images of digitized cadavers, simulation mannequins for adult and pediatric patients, and a simulation package for maternal and newborn nursing education, according to the Elmhurst Leader. New video, audio and learning-tool systems are also included.
Marissa King, interim director of nursing simulation and a three-time Elmhurst University alumna, described what the high-fidelity mannequins can do. "Our high-fidelity mannequins have heart sounds and lung sounds; they talk back to us, they can throw up, they can sweat, they can bleed," King told the Elmhurst Leader. Students use them to practice inserting IVs, wound care and other clinical skills.
The equipment will go into the 45,000-square-foot Health Sciences Building at 190 Prospect Ave. The building opened in August 2025 and is the campus's first new structure in nearly 20 years, according to Elmhurst University. It houses the university's nursing, occupational therapy, public health and communication sciences and disorders programs. It already includes a 360-degree virtual-reality lab, a Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and an occupational therapy apartment where students practice helping people with mobility challenges.
Demand for those programs is climbing. Enrollment in Elmhurst University's undergraduate and graduate nursing and health sciences programs jumped from 424 students in 2021 to 703 in 2025, according to the university's 2025–2026 Data Book.
University President Troy D. VanAken said he first met with Casten in April 2024 to discuss the building. "…In the old days, doctors and nurses had to learn things on human bodies, maybe you had a cadaver, but now you can do this rich simulation," VanAken said at the Sept. 10 ceremony.
Junior nursing student Jaedon Thompson said he already uses the current 3D anatomy table and was excited about the upgrades. Simulation work makes up most of his program.
Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin and Board of Trustees Chair Julius W. "Wes" Becton also attended the ceremony, held in the building's Jans Family Military and Veterans Center. The $950,000 was part of more than $2 million Casten secured for the 6th District in the same spending package, according to his office.
The university has not announced when the new equipment will arrive.
