The Challenge
Although simulation seems firmly embedded in healthcare education today, this was not always the case. Without the resolve of some medical educators, like those at Hartford Hospital, healthcare education might never have realized the life-saving training that simulation offers today’s healthcare professionals.
The Customer
Hartford Hospital was founded in 1854 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004. Today Hartford is both a place that its founding fathers would recognize, and a place where they would encounter medical marvels not even dreamt of in their lifetimes.
The Journey
Hartford has always made it their mission to offer comprehensive services in an environment where innovation and teaching are integral to care. With this in mind in the early 2000s, Hartford began researching a variety of new teaching methods, one being simulation. Department heads, Dr. Avery Mort and Dr. Shane Shafer felt simulation was a promising new teaching avenue that was worth looking into; thus, they spearheaded Hartford’s first manikin purchase.
The Discovery
After buying the manikins, Hartford’s instructors quickly sensed that such technology was the wave of the future. However, getting funding for a simulation program was anything but easy. As with anything new and innovative, Hartford’s staff had to prove what benefits simulation offered.
The Solution
To do this Stephen Donahue, Director of what is now the Simulation Center at Hartford Hospital, started teaching simulation courses with the manikins in addition to his regular duties at the hospital. Donahue says, “Thanks to Laerdal’s SimMan manikins and their easy to use, portable durability, I was able to conduct classes and get students interested in the realistic delivery of healthcare training they offer.”
The Implementation
After three long years and a huge amount of work, Donahue and his colleagues were finally given the funding they needed to build a Simulation Center at Hartford. Today, it is the only one of its kind in Connecticut and has been featured on the National Geographic Science Channel and was we recently accredited by the American College of Surgery as a level 1 training facility. It is also a Laerdal Center of Educational Excellence.
The Results
Donahue is proud to note that the center is 100% Laerdal stocked. “With a lot of hard work and determination and the help of Laerdal’s reliable help and services, we have been able to step firmly into the 21st century and supplement our educational system with techniques that allow learners to participate in safe environments that mimic multiple types of acute crises and patient care scenarios,” says Donahue.