Cape Fear Valley Health’s simulation center was recently recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the “simulation and education programs to know.” This recognition is a testament to the sophisticated medical training programs being offered right here in Fayetteville.

The Cape Fear Valley Health Center for Medical Education and Neuroscience Institute, which officially opened in January 2023. Cape Fear Valley Health's simulation center, located within the Center for Medical Education and Neuroscience Institute, is a state-of-the-art facility advancing healthcare education through cutting-edge simulation technologies and multidisciplinary training. 

Accredited by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons for fundamentals of endoscopic surgery testing and home to an American Heart Association training center, the simulation center supports certifications and advanced training programs. 

The simulation center is built to mirror the layout of the hospital itself and has four high fidelity rooms. There’s a simulated operating room, which houses all the surgical equipment, virtual reality equipment, and also the catheterization lab. Then there is an ED and trauma room, which houses two high fidelity mannequins. There is also an ICU and PACU room, which houses two more high fidelity mannequins. And there is a labor and delivery room, which is equipped with a birthing mannequin and training for the NICU. The center also has a few multipurpose rooms which house all of the task trainers. And finally, there’s a nursing section with six 10 by 10 nursing bays and six mannequins. 

The mannequins are equipped with artificial intelligence, with one even being so advanced that it will turn and face whoever is speaking to it and respond to questions. The mannequins can cry, sweat and bleed and provide a simulated experience as close to treating a real human as possible. As healthcare professionals train with the mannequins their interactions are monitored and recorded in a cloud based system to track progress and success rates. Staff train using the same equipment on the mannequins that they will then use to treat real patients in their day to day practice.

Each of the high fidelity rooms can run independently, but they can also run concurrently. The user-friendly software makes it possible for three or four groups to come through the same room in a day. However, the center is also great for interprofessional education. Training will often replicate situations the hospital sees on a regular basis such as a gunshot victim being treated in the ED and then transferred to the OR team as their condition progresses. 

Everybody from nursing, EMS, respiratory residents, regular physicians, certified nursing assistants and more come through the simulation center. Last year about 10,000 people trained in the simulation center. 

Cape Fear Valley Health is also partnering with Methodist University to build the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine. Once the school is up and running there will be Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) rooms on the campus for additional simulated training, and the school will collaborate closely with the simulation center for further high fidelity training. 

The return on this investment is demonstrated in the increased quality of care given to patients. The ability to have these hands-on, life-like training experiences prior to treating real patients minimizes the risks of tasks which would be hard to mimic without these advanced technologies.

Looking ahead, the center hopes to soon house an immersion room, which is a 14 by 14 room full of high definition projectors on the ceiling and the floors that can be made to replicate any space or scenario. It's got spatial surround sound, it moves, the walls are interactive and it also has a high definition 360 camera. This flexible space would be a game changer for training healthcare professionals.

Since its creation the simulation center has played a vital role in preparing CFVH’s staff to approach the toughest of medical procedures with a clear mind and steady hands. Thanks to this advanced tech, future medical professionals and veterans in the field are able to master the techniques necessary to save lives.