Training Center and Simulation Lab
Providing extensive support and training to parents and caregivers prior to discharge is essential and the Hospital’s new facilities provide the perfect training ground.
Blythedale recently completed a $27 million capital project which included significant investments in the Hospital's Parent and Caregiver Training Center, which includes a state-of the-art Simulation Lab.
The renovated space includes a main Sim Lab, where parents are trained to use a wide variety of standardized medical equipment, as well as the highly individualized devices their child will go home with.
The new Sim Lab also features an observation room with a one-way viewing mirror where Blythedale staff can observe parents and caregivers as they learn how to care for medically complex children, ready to provide guidance if needed while helping to foster independence and confidence in their abilities. A high-tech “sim-capture” system allows Blythedale staff to record the simulated training drills so parents can review their unique sessions in preparation for discharge home.
In this safe, controlled setting, caregivers not only become familiar with specialized medical equipment and monitoring devices but become experts in their use. Caregivers learn and practice skills such as providing tracheostomy care, enteral feeding, using a central line, administering medications, caring for an ostomy bag, and catheterization. They are trained to calmly and competently respond to alarms signaling distress and provide life-saving interventions, if needed. Learning how to safely transfer a child on a ventilator from bed to car seat brings with it the ability for families to safely get to doctors’ appointments, thus minimizing the risk of re-hospitalization.
There is also a simulated home environment, with items including a crib, changing table, and rocking chair where caregivers will practice with the same medical equipment they will use at home. This space enables parents to envision how they will set up their baby’s nursery at home, incorporating medical equipment while also creating a cozy, welcoming space for their little one home.
Transitioning patients and families back to their communities is an important milestone in the healing process. The Parent and Family Education program and the Sim Lab are the conduit to making this transition a reality for our families.
