Mobile Lab Trains With Realistic Manikins
Medical workers in rural Montana are receiving a new type of medical training with the help of realistic manikins.
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? This is both my debut blog and my first social media post. How am I doing so far? My name is Drew Dawson, I am the Chair of Simulation in Motion Montana, Inc., and I want to be the first to welcome you to our Facebook Page (see button below)! #newguy #oldguy #telegraphsweremyday.
After a long state and Federal EMS career, I was ready to retire when I returned from Washington D.C. in 2015. I did not know that Jim DeTienne, Supervisor of EMS and Trauma Systems (EMSTS) at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and a group of really motivated Montana EMS folks and other health care providers were working on a proposal to the Helmsley Charitable Trust to bring a mobile high-fidelity simulation program to rural EMS, critical access hospitals, and other health care providers. Being an astute clinician, Jim quickly recognized and pounced on my “EMS withdrawal” signs and symptoms and honored me with a request to become involved with the Board of Directors—the volunteer group overseeing the program now known as Simulation in Motion, Montana Inc.
Wow!!! What a whirlwind of activity in the last few years has been, including:
- A $4.6 million grant from The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust(HCT) to the DPHHS to purchase three trucks and to provide start-up costs.
- The formation of a non-profit corporation: Simulation in Motion-Montana, Inc.(SIM-MT) to oversee the entire project and to ensure its sustainability.
- A contract between SIM-MT and the Montana Medical Association (MMA) to provide management services.
- A second grant of almost $2 million from The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust – this time to SIM-MT that focuses on program sustainability.
This public-private partnership has enabled the establishment of a world-class high-fidelity mobile simulation program right here in our Montana “backyard” and made it accessible to EMS, Critical Access Hospitals, and other health care providers at costs comparable to traditional training programs. Right here in Montana, health care providers have access to the very latest simulation equipment and the most up-to-date course content provided by Certified Healthcare Simulation Educators®.
Over six thousand of you have been “touched” by SIM-MT through the hundreds of events that have been offered throughout Montana. Our ultimate goal is to improve patient care and many accolades we’ve received seem to confirm we’re doing just that.
We know, and the evidence unequivocally proves that High-Fidelity Simulation:
- Improves Patient Outcomes
- Reduces Preventable Medical Error
- Increases Healthcare Team Performance
- Identifies Latent Patient Safety Threats
There is also a strong ethical case to be made for the wholesale integration of High-Fidelity Simulation into healthcare.
SIM-MT provides an incredible opportunity for the education of Montana healthcare providers allowing them to remain current with the latest evidence-based practice guidelines in an extremely cost-effective manner and in an excellent learning environment.
SIM-MT has received an outstanding financial “kick start” from The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and I am excited to share that as a result of the program’s initial success, SIM-MT, in partnership with the MMA, is in the process of hiring an Executive Director and a Development Director to continue our momentum and truly achieve financial independence and long term sustainability. grow and to sustain the program. Through a combination of program revenue, philanthropy, and grants, our goal is to continue to expand the services of SIM-MT.
I, along with my colleagues on the board of directors and advisory council, are thrilled to be taking this next step in the maturing of SIM-MT, the premier mobile simulation program in the world. Thank you for engaging with us, and for your continued support of Simulation in Motion Montana, Inc.
~Drew Dawson; Board Chair