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.

HSI virtual hospital earns accreditation

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) recently granted accreditation in core standards and teaching/education for the Virtual Hospital in MCC-Penn Valley’s Health Science Institute.

“We are honored to be one of the first programs in the nation to earn this prestigious honor. Simulation-based learning is one of the most innovative training methods for nursing and allied health students and professionals that ensures patient safety and quality medical care,” says Sandy McIlnay, Director of MCC-Penn Valley’s Health Science Insitute.

The HSI's Virtual Hospital is a 10,000 sq. ft. healthcare simulation center for students studying nursing, emergency medical services, physical therapy and other healthcare disciplines.

The suite includes: six learning areas that closely mimic hospital departments that provide a clinical environment for students and professionals to practice procedures such as intubation, IV insertion, cardioversion and lung decompression with 12 computer-operated human patient simulators that mimic various patient scenarios, such as: trauma, shock, collapsed lung, chest pain, cardiac arrest, pulmonary emboli, asthmas, neurological events, obstetrical emergencies and childbirth.

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) represents the rapidly growing group of educators and researchers who utilize a variety of simulation techniques for education, testing, and research in health care. The membership, now over 2,000, is united by its desire to improve performance and reduce errors in patient care using all types of simulation including task trainers, human patient simulators, virtual reality, and standardized patients. SSH promotes improvements in simulation technology, educational methods, practitioner assessment, and patient safety that promote better patient care and can improve patient outcome.

In order to earn the distinction, HSI’s Virtual Hospital demonstrated competencies in the following Core Standards: mission and governance; organization and management; facilities, application and technology; evaluation and improvement; and integrity.

Additionally, the Virtual Hospital demonstrated competency in the educational standards of: learning activities, qualified educators, curriculum design, ongoing curriculum feedback and improvement, and educational credit.

Accreditation is earned for a three-year period. Accredited facilities will submit a yearly review and apply for reaccreditation at the end of the three year period.