3 ways a Northeast Indiana healthcare simulation lab was part of world-class innovation in 2020

The Parkview Advanced Medical Simulation Lab may be based in Fort Wayne, but its capability is truly world-class.  

The facility is primarily used to train area medical professionals—from medical students to new Parkview co-workers and even seasoned physicians learning new techniques. However, it’s far from a typical classroom. Using advanced medical simulation technology, the “Sim Lab,” as it’s better known, allows clinicians to get hands-on experience that mimics what they would see in real life.

Using advanced medical simulation technology, the “Sim Lab,” as it’s better known, allows clinicians to get hands-on experience that mimics what they would see in real life.

Along with using cutting-edge solutions to teach, the Sim Lab team at Parkview also creates cutting-edge solutions, connecting and collaborating with healthcare innovators around the country and globe.

“Our lab is very unique, and a lot of people don’t realize the incredible technology we have here,” says Charlotte Gabet, Manager of the Innovation and Simulation Lab at the Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation.

In 2020 alone, the Sim Lab team has demonstrated at least three ways it works on a world-class level.

The Parkview Advanced Medical Simulation Lab is far from a typical classroom.

1. Pandemic innovation

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sim Lab had to suspend classes, but they didn’t stop working. The team quickly switched gears to innovation, coming up with multiple ideas that could aid healthcare workers in the pandemic. As part of a think tank organized by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the team connected with innovators from around the world to brainstorm and build new ideas.

Though some of their innovative solutions, like multi-patient ventilation systems or 3D-printed N-95 masks, were not used in a clinical setting, their collaborations with other health care teams sparked new ideas and creative thinking. One solution, a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) created with 3D-printed parts and other locally manufactured pieces, was used by Parkview frontline co-workers as personal protective equipment when caring for COVID-19 patients.

Medical professionals get hands-on experience at the Parkview Advanced Medical Simulation Lab.

2. Infant mortality solutions

The Sim Lab team’s skills were also put to the test with the first-ever Healthy Mom and Baby Innovation Competition in 2020. A global challenge created by Parkview Health and MATTER, the competition sought solutions to help improve infant mortality rates. The Sim Lab’s entry was among 57 others from 14 states and six countries. The team’s idea, a doll that can be used to educate parents on how fluid can get into a baby’s lungs, was ultimately not selected to win the competition, but it will continue in development, Gabet says.

Along with using cutting-edge solutions to teach, the Sim Lab team at Parkview also creates cutting-edge solutions, connecting and collaborating with healthcare innovators around the country and globe.

3. Accreditation

The most recent testament of the Sim Lab’s world-class work is its accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), the largest healthcare simulation accrediting body in the world. To achieve this recognition, the team had to document and demonstrate how it met the same standards followed by the world’s top sim labs.

Having earned recognition from their peers in advanced medical simulation, Parkview’s Sim Lab team is gearing up for another world-class honor. In 2021, they’re set to host the annual conference for SimGHOSTS, a global network for simulation professionals.

“We have all these connections globally working to create the highest standard of education for our healthcare professionals,” Gabet says.