North Shore-LIJ reopens medical simulation center

The nurse counted to 15 as she rhythmically pressed on the chest of the 8-month-old infant named "Julie" who was having trouble breathing. Another nurse knelt next to the anxious mother and grandmother seated nearby and explained to them what was happening.

Watching the heart and respiratory monitor, the medical team then realized the baby, who had respiratory syncytial virus, needed to have a tube put into her windpipe to keep her breathing - and alive.

Ten minutes later, the nurses sat inside a room at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System's Patient Safety Institute in Lake Success to watch themselves on video. The nurses, all from the pediatric intensive care unit at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, were there to discuss how well they had handled the emergency, which was really no emergency at all.

The well-planned simulation, complete with a high-tech doll and pretend mother and grandmother, was part of North Shore-LIJ's reopening Thursday of its newly expanded Patient Safety Institute.

One of the largest medical simulation centers in the country, the institute is where doctors, nurses and medical residents from around the health system come to sharpen their skills and, they hope, cut down on medical errors.

"We can produce critical situations; we can run risks with impunity," said Dr. Lawrence Smith, North Shore-LIJ's chief medical officer.

The institute, which opened five years ago, is part of the health system's Center for Learning and Innovation, which also teaches staff ways to improve patient services. The expansion, which cost $3.8 million, has tripled the size of the learning center to 45,000 square feet, 20,000 square feet of which contain the institute.

The expansion includes an operating room, a procedure room, a labor and delivery suite and eight critical care rooms, all equipped with computerized mannequins and monitors, two-way mirrors and cameras.

The life-size mannequins can be programmed to mimic high-risk scenarios, which are usually based on problems medical teams have encountered in the past, said Kathleen Gallo, chief learning officer for the health system. By the end of the year, between 7,000 and 8,000 North Shore-LIJ health care providers will have passed through the institute, she said.

To help doctors and, in the future, medical students, improve their diagnostic and communication skills, the institute now also includes 14 patient rooms. Actors will portray patients with various illnesses while the doctor is monitored in real time on video.

Jacqueline Colombraro, one of the nurses in the "Julie" scenario, said the exercises are useful: "It gives us an extra ability to hone our skills."

In this case, Colombraro and the other nurses performed well, and "Julie" survived to serve another day.