LIU Post College of Health Professionals and Nursing held a ribbon cutting Oct. 14 and a demonstration of the University’s new state-of-the-art healthcare simulation center as part of homecoming weekend.
Among the dignitaries at the event were LIU President Kimberly R. Cline, Winifred Mack, an LIU Post alumnus and Senior Vice President of Health System Operations for Northwell Health, Lori Knapp, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Stacy Gropack, Dean of the LIU Post College of Health Professions and Nursing.
The state-of-the-art center — called the Interprofessional Simulation Center — is a critical part of the university’s experiential approach to educating the next generation of healthcare professionals.
The center promotes collaboration among future nurses and health professionals, preparing them for roles in an increasingly complex and interdisciplinary healthcare environment.
The center simulates real-world situations, using advanced simulation equipment. The participants learn proper interventions, refine interprofessional skills, and increase confidence in their abilities.
“What’s different about this center is that this is an Interprofessional Simulation Center where our students work together to learn teamwork and be the best healthcare professions they can be,” Gropack said. “This Center provides a safe environment to create simulations so our students are ready for real-world situations.”
LIU Post’s Interprofessional Simulation Center is unique as it supports interdisciplinary and translational research, adding to the body of knowledge on simulation, practice, technology, quality, and safety in a real-world healthcare setting. It works with the medical imaging lab as well.
“What makes this center unique is critical and will make our students better healthcare providers and that means a better patient outcome,” Knapp said.
The Interprofessional Simulation Center operates like a real hospital, including equipment, supplies, and eight mannequins that are controlled by faculty and act as simulated patients that model human behavior and respond to medical interventions such as CPR, medication, and treatment.
Among the different scenarios the Center is able to replicate is a maternity ward with a mannequin that simulates a live birth, including a “sim baby” which responds to treatment. Students interact with the simulated experience as part of their classroom curricula, participating in role-play scenarios in a team-based atmosphere. These exercises help students develop comfort in medical settings, in a safe clinical environment.
“My undergraduate and graduate degrees from LIU Post prepared me for a vigorous career. I was blessed to have been able to come to this University,” Mack said, noting that this new Center will help prepare the next generation of great healthcare professionals.
