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April 2, 2007
by Laura Ashley Lamm Access to health care services for county residents, state-of-the-art training with simulated mannequins for students, and making eastern North Carolina the front runner in allied health education is all possible with Edgecombe Community College's newest plan. Discussions and plans are under way to construct the $12 million ECC Community Health Education Center on the college's Rocky Mount campus. The four-story center will house five of the college's nine allied health programs, as well as a primary care clinic, a mental health and rehab unit, a simulated hospital, and possibly a dental clinic, contingent upon available resources. "When I came to ECC, there were already plans in the works for an addition on the Rocky Mount campus that included expanding allied health programs. We are running out of space and in need of another facility to house our health care programs," said ECC President Dr. Deborah Lamm. "My vision included expanding that concept to bring a simulated hospital environment to eastern North Carolina. Health care is at the top of our list of priorities when it comes to meeting the needs of eastern North Carolina. "I believe that by making a simulated hospital environment available to eastern community colleges and other entities like mental health agencies, health departments, and medical providers, we will be able to meet the needs of training when it comes to health care providers and students," Lamm said. The center will provide an accessible, central location for at-risk county residents to receive health information, screenings, and limited treatments. "This center would increase the access to health and wellness resources for community members who otherwise might not be served," said Lamm. The building will have an estimated 46,400 square feet and will contain four floors at an anticipated cost of $7.6 million. The first floor will be used for a primary care clinic and a potential dental clinic, to be made possible through partnerships with area medical facilities. The remaining space on the first and second floors will be used for offices, classrooms, or labs. "If we are able to house a dental clinic, we could use this facility as a satellite for rural dental care in North Carolina," said Lamm. The third and fourth floors will house a state-of-the-art simulated hospital. "Neighboring colleges and universities have simulated labs, but they do not have a full-scale simulated hospital environment. Catawba Valley Community College is developing a simulated hospital environment for western Carolina, and we would like for this facility to be the simulated hospital environment for eastern Carolina," said Lamm. Catawba Valley and ECC would house the only two simulated hospitals of this magnitude in the community college system. "The hospital would be equipped with patient simulators, for example, a SimMan and a SimBaby. Both are interactive mannequins that allow students to perform advanced life support skills," said Lamm. All mannequins would be hooked up to simulation monitors with touch screen technology that contain software with pre-programmed scenarios of lifelike situations for caregivers to treat. Instructors will have the ability to control all aspects of the simulator. ECC's simulated hospital would generate the simulation of patient care, including emergency medical services; health information technology; emergency department care; nursing medical, surgical, pediatric, obstetrical, and psychiatric care; and intensive or cardiac care. Within the simulated hospital, there will be clinical experiences for students in the areas of nursing, practical nursing, surgical technology, respiratory care, radiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging technology, health information technology, medical assisting, and nursing assistant care. "Health care is changing rapidly, and patients that students traditionally cared for are often transferred to regional medical centers; therefore, student exposure to the wide variety of health care problems who require advanced treatment is becoming more limited," said Robin Pigg, program chair for nursing and interim dean for health sciences. "Human simulators would meet this need by allowing the student to have a visual and hands-practice setting with the simulator doing almost everything a live patient would do who is in distress. Human simulators are the wave of the future for health care training and are being used more and more across the nation. ECC plans to be in front of that wave," she added. "The bottom line is that students will be better prepared to provide quality care to patients." One advantage for ECC will be its ability to count the simulated hospital as a clinical site for student training. "ECC has more than 300 students enrolled in seven health science curriculum programs who would directly benefit from the simulated hospital. The programs have maxed out current clinical space and looking forward, the college wants to increase the number of slots to fill the demand for health care training in the community and surrounding area," said Pigg. "For the past several years, too many students are unable to join the ranks of health care students who desire a career in these growing fields," she added. Lamm is also researching the possibility of a mental health wing of the hospital to allow students to train and work with mental health and rehab patients in a natural setting, such as in a grocery store, apartment, and classroom. The facility would house five allied health programs, which are respiratory care, radiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging technology, medical assisting, and nursing assistant care. "Our allied health programs serve as the hallmark of ECC. We have high passing rates in all of our health science programs, and all of our students have jobs when they receive their degrees. ECC offers a variety of health care programs that respond to the health care needs of eastern North Carolina." Lamm has been working since January to garner interest in the project from medical providers, community colleges, and universities in eastern North Carolina and to ensure that these services and educational opportunities are provided to students. "The Center will be a training facility for professionals in any area of hospital emergency. The facility will help the county economically by bringing in health care professionals and allied health students from counties east of I-95. Our hope is that the users will buy gas, eat lunch, and enjoy the amenities of the county while they are at Edgecombe experiencing their training," said Lamm. "We are inviting community colleges in eastern North Carolina to
use the clinical site and to join together to form an Eastern North Carolina
Community College Consortium."
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