A new simulation training center is coming to Sanford Broadway in Fargo.
The simulation training center is made possible through a partnership between Sanford and the Tri-College University, which is a collaboration between Concordia College, Minnesota State University Moorhead, North Dakota State University, North Dakota State College of Science and Minnesota State Community and Technical College. Sanford Fargo President Nate White says Sanford will donate $5 million to renovate the former Children's Hospital at Sanford Broadway, making it one of the only real-life simulation training centers in the country. NDSU President Dean Bresciani says the training center should make the Tri-College an education destination for students entering the health care field, and hopefully address the rural nursing shortage.
"When this idea began to mature to actually being in a college setting, and bringing as much realism as possible to the experience of our students, it really became a rather extraordinary endeavor. And it's an endeavor that's not only going to prepare our nursing students at a level of sophistication and experience that won't be replicated in many if any locations in the entire nation - but it means we will have the best trained health care workers serving citizens of our states and regions, and it's pretty exciting - it's a daunting challenge, but it's an exciting opportunity to excel in a way that wasn't even imaginable a few years ago."
NDSCS President John Richman says simulation education has proven valuable for a number of fields - and this center will allows students to learn without risk to any patients.
"When we train our students in simulated events like this, opportunities like this, it's a controlled environment. It's a safe environment. It's an environment where they can learn and make mistakes. It's an environment where they can build skills and practice those skills over and over again. You can't get that in a real world experience every single time."
Construction on the new simulation center is scheduled to begin this coming spring, with a completion date sometime in 2020.