Advanced Simulation Center

Salt Lake City – Intermountain Healthcare has joined the ranks of other premiere institutions like Duke University and Johns Hopkins by opening a new state-of-the-art simulation center to annually train hundreds of current and future doctors, nurses, and healthcare technicians.

The new Intermountain Simulation Center at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City is the largest and most advanced simulation center the Mountain West and aims to increase patient safety and improve clinical outcomes through hands-on simulated scenarios in real-life settings and trainings.

Utilizing over 10,000 square feet of space, the center is equipped with the most advanced simulation technology and allows medical staff the opportunity to develop and practice physical skills, critical thinking, decision-making, collaboration, and communication in a safe yet realistic environment.

The Intermountain Simulation Center features multiple areas that are designed to provide real-world experience, including:

• Three patient rooms
• Fully-equipped operating room
• Labor & Delivery suite with infant resuscitation station
• Procedure lab
• Home health suite
• Centralized control room

The simulation rooms are fully outfitted with interactive, computer-driven mannequin simulators that allow deliberate practice of a full range of clinical interventions. They are equipped with medical gases, sinks, patient beds, crash carts, and all the equipment needed to make the experience feel as real as possible to the participants.

The cutting-edge mannequin simulators breathe (with breath sounds), have heart tones and palpable pulses, and procedures can be performed on the simulators such as bag-mask ventilation, intubation, defibrillation, chest tube placement, and others. There are adult and child mannequins, and even a realistic “mother” that gives birth to a baby.

High-definition cameras are also positioned throughout the center, which gives simulation staff the ability to view and interact with medical staff as if they were the patient from a centralized observation control room.

“Simulation is a powerful tool,” says Tammy Richards, RN, Intermountain Healthcare Patient and Clinical Engagement director. “It’s an opportunity to provide our surgeons, our nurses, and our technicians an opportunity to practice technique, communication, and teamwork over and over again so they’re better prepared at the bedside.”

While the Intermountain Simulation Center is at LDS Hospital, the center and its staff provide training to all 22 Intermountain hospitals with the potential to expand offerings to other health systems and educational institutions in the future.

“As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, the need for simulation opportunities to help enhance quality and clinical outcomes is growing,” says Kim Henrichsen, Intermountain Healthcare chief nursing officer. “This center is designed to help lead the way to provide our patients with the safest and best care possible now and in the future.”