Simulation, Education and All Sorts Of R&D

by Shelli Dankoff
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

A collaboration between OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center will be used for education, credentialing, research and performance improvement for both organizations, as well as regional affiliates, and healthcare and educational providers across the country.

When it comes to research and development, the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center (JTSEC) opens the door to so many possibilities. The cutting-edge facility is the result of a generous gift from Jump Trading, a Chicago-based trading firm. It will encompass the lower two floors of a six-story building currently under construction on the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center campus. It is slated to open in the spring of 2013.

“Simulation is an important learning tool,” says Matthew Warrens, the Center’s executive director of operations. “It is not new in its use within the healthcare industry. It allows healthcare professionals to simulate or practice medical procedures in a safe, realistic environment. Many facilities offer simulation to be used in research, but JTSEC will be one of a few centers in the country to use simulation for education, performance improvement and research.”

Dr. John Vozenilek has been hired as the chief medical officer of simulation. He comes to Peoria from Chicago, where he was director of the Northwestern McGaw Simulation Network at Northwestern University.

The Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center will be a virtual care delivery setting with areas designed to facilitate simulation of every potential patient encounter from the home, outpatient care, patient transport, emergency medicine, surgery and the bedside. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art simulation equipment and the same medical equipment and furniture as real clinical settings. Included in the facility will be seven distinct simulation areas:

  1. The Virtual Intensive Care Unit will be set up exactly as an operating intensive care unit room, with two patient rooms, a medication room and a centralized work area. The space is designed to facilitate simulation curriculum using high-fidelity mannequins. This will be used for critical care orientation, continuing education, performance improvement, device testing and electronic ICU development.
  2. The Virtual Operating Room will have all the medical equipment and furniture to make it capable of being set up as an operating room, an interventional lab and a trauma suite. This will be used to improve team communication in critical situations, performance improvement and device testing. 
  3. The Anatomical Skills Lab will have student stations and a proctor station designed for education using cadavers or cadaver parts. This area will be used for surgical skills training on procedures and surgical devices. 
  4. The Skills Lab will have student stations and a proctor station designed for education for using medical model training. Those clinicians using the Skills Lab will improve their training on everything from line placement to wound care. 
  5. The Virtual Reality Lab will have eight student stations to house virtual reality trainers. These training devices use gaming theory to teach surgical and interventional competencies through self-directed learning. 
  6. The Regional Transport Center will have a garage with a fixed ambulance bay, adjacent to a studio apartment. The space is designed to have the capability of bringing in a wrecked car to simulate extractions at an accident scene, an apartment to simulate extractions from the home and an ambulance bay to simulate transportation readiness for first responders. The space will be equipped with technology to simulate light, noise and weather conditions that first responders face on a regular basis in the field. 
  7. The Innovation Lab will be equipped with hoods, tools and workspaces designed to facilitate and further research in simulation devices. JTSEC will focus its research, scholarly and innovative activities on creating educational programs and supportive technology and devices that disseminate the use of simulation across the region, the country and the world. Clinicians and engineers will collaborate on simulation research funded by private and government grants.

In addition to the technical, hands-on areas, one of the most exciting components of JTSEC will be the conference center. With an auditorium that seats 300 people, a lecture hall for 75, a debriefing theater and several other meeting spaces, the center will be equipped with the state-of-the art video and audio technology required to facilitate world class-simulation and research. We will be able to host global conferences and show the world what our medical teams are doing here—while it is happening!

The economic impact of the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center will be felt throughout the region as we share the knowledge learned not only with physicians, nurses, clinicians and first responders in our own backyard and around the state, but also with a worldwide audience. We can’t wait for the journey to begin next year. iBi