HSI continues to earn top honors

For nearly 40 years, MCC-Penn Valley has trained some of the best and brightest minds in Kansas City’s healthcare workforce. In fact, Penn Valley produces the largest number of nursing and allied health professionals in the region.

In January, the campus opened the Health Science Institute (HSI), a 170,000 sq. ft. educational facility designed with the latest healthcare technology.

A key feature of the state-of-the-art HSI is a 10,000 sq. ft. virtual hospital with a fully functioning operating room, an emergency room, a neonatal intensive care unit and patient rooms.

In the nine months since HSI opened, it has earned a number of high honors, including two recent honors for the virtual hospital. The Society of Simulation in Healthcare has awarded the accreditation in core standards and teaching/education to the virtual hospital and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has selected MCC-Penn Valley as one of only 10 schools in the country to participate in a landmark simulation study. As participants in the NCSBN study, HSI faculty will undergo extensive training in running and debriefing simulation scenarios.

“We are honored to be one of the few programs in the nation to earn these prestigious honors,” said Sandy McIlnay, director of the MCC-Penn Valley Health Science Institute. “Simulation-based learning is one of the most innovative training methods for nursing and allied health students and professionals that ensure patient safety and quality medical care.”

HSI was also recently recognized by the Missouri Community College Association with the 2010 Technology Innovation Award.

HSI offers a number of programs to meet the healthcare worker shortage including: coding specialist, dental assistant, emergency medical technician (EMT)/paramedic, health information technology, mammography, medical transcription, nursing (ADN, LPN, CNA), occupational therapy, pharmacy technician, phlebotomy, physical therapy, radiology, sonography and surgical technology.