Hawaii Pacific Health

HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MANOA COME TOGETHER TO CREATE HAWAI‘I NURSING SIMULATION CENTER HONOLULU

In the spirit of the season, four of Hawai‘i’s healthcare industry leaders joined officials and students at UH Mānoa’s School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene (SONDH) today to celebrate $1,050,000 in initial gifts to support the development of the Hawai‘i Nursing Simulation Center at Webster Hall.

At this celebration, healthcare leaders presented a check totaling $1.05 million, representing their four recent gifts made in support of the planned simulation center. Hawai‘i Medical Service Association (HMSA) Foundation made a $500,000 gift; Hawai‘i Pacific Health contributed $250,000; Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i contributed $50,000; and, the Queen’s Medical Center contributed an additional $250,000 for a total of $1,050,000 in gifts to the Hawai‘i Nursing Simulation Center Fund. The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is providing space and facilitating the creation of this shared community resource.

“We are truly grateful to our healthcare providers for investing in this new simulation center at the UH Mānoa nursing school. Private support provides the margin of excellence at this university - this project promotes excellence in healthcare education. This investment will improve the lives of many people across Hawai‘i,” said Virginia S. Hinshaw, UH Mānoa Chancellor.

These gifts will support designing and planning the transformation of the existing training spaces into a 7,000 sq. ft. facility equipped to serve as a statewide resource and address the ongoing need for nursing clinical and workforce education. Using state-of-the-art technology and high-speed technology, the Center will increase the professional nurse’s ability to ensure patient safety; build advanced technical skills; and develop decisionmaking abilities of nurses and healthcare providers. The Center will serve all islands and link the existing simulation labs of the UH Statewide Nursing Consortium and hospitals throughout the state. Dean Mary Boland noted, “Nurses are the primary providers of hospital patient care, and deliver most of the nation’s long-term and community-based care. These historic gifts signify that quality healthcare requires strong partnership between education and industry. UH Mānoa nursing is delighted to collaborate with the leading Hawai‘i healthcare organizations to create this first-of-its-kind center to assure patient safety and quality care delivery through technology-driven education.”

The Center will simulate the continuum of clinical settings, and will be equipped with human patient simulators, bedside computers, digitalized video recording capacity, and interactive instructional software. The Center will feature realistic practice settings, including the medical-surgical hospital unit, critical care, surgical/operating suite pediatrics, neonatal nursery, maternity, ambulatory and home care.

"The UH Foundation is looking forward to building on this promising start for this critical community enrichment project. In today's economy, private/public partnership like this are essential to addressing the pressing challenges we face, and providing solutions for tomorrow,” said Donna Vuchinich, President, UH Foundation.