Funds raised at Cooper’s Red Hot Gala, on March 26, 2011, will go toward the expansion of Cooper’s Simulation Laboratory. The Sim Lab benefits departments throughout the hospital, including Anesthesia, Pediatrics, Surgery/Trauma and Nursing. But how does it provide those benefits? And why is the Sim Lab so important to our mission at Cooper?

Training

The ability to replicate clinical conditions and situations in simulated human patients is vital to medical education and research. To practice a procedure over and over on a robot, until it becomes second nature, is invaluable.

Safety

Improving patient safety is also something the Sim Lab helps achieve. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued a report, called “To Err Is Human,” which said that more than 98,000 hospital deaths per year were due to preventable medical errors. Simulation provides a risk-free environment for improving clinical competency, which in turn reduces medical errors.

Currently located on Kelemen 9, the Sim Lab has five separate training labs. Learners can perform clinical assessments and take pulses, listen to heart and lung sounds, and evaluate breathing rate and depth. Clinical interventions like cardiac defibrillation, chest tube placement, and advanced airway management can be practiced. Even critical care situations are simulated, to evaluate code response and team communication.

Cooper has a reputation of outstanding clinical care, innovative research, and quality education. The Sim Lab only strengthens that reputation, and helps us provide better, safer care.

Sponsoring or attending the Red Hot Gala supports this fantastic resource. Learn more and get updates by visiting the Red Hot Gala web page at cooperhealth.org/redhot!