Robert Morris University (RMU) received a grant last week for $500,000 toward the construction of a new nursing simulation center on its Moon Township campus.
"Our vision for the training center is to offer simulation not only to our students, but also to health care workers around the region," says Valerie Howard, Ph.D., with RMU. "The facility can be used by hospitals in the area for orientation, team training and employee competency testing."
The recent grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry comes on top of a $250,000 grant from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and a $95,000 federal grant.
The two-story, 23,000 square-foot facility, designed by Downtown-based
Astorino architects, is still in the design phase, and is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2011.
In the meantime, RMU is expanding its preexisting nursing simulation facility in the John Jay Center. The one-room simulation lab is being renovated, and two additional high-fidelity classrooms are being added. Five additional simulation mannequins, including a newborn, a 5-year-old, a birthing and two adult models, will allow students and health care workers to get real-world experience in a safe, controlled environment, says Dr. Howard.
"We have them practice in the lab before going out and taking care of real patients," she explains. "It decreases medical errors and improves patient outcomes in the healthcare arena."
RMU's
School of Nursing and Health Sciences is six years old, and is home to about 180 undergraduates and 110 graduate students.
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Caralyn GreenSources: Jonathan Potts, public relations director, and Valerie Howard, associate professor of nursing, Robert Morris University
Image courtesy Robert Morris University