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Minister of Health and Long-Term Care George Smitherman unveils mannequins at George Brown College's Simulated Practice Centre$1.2 million facility supports evolution in health-care delivery(Toronto, ON, February 5, 2007) - George Smitherman, Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, unveiled sophisticated high-tech mannequins today at the opening of a ground-breaking health sciences applied learning centre at George Brown College. The state of the art Simulated Practice Centre (SPC) mirrors an in-patient facility found in a hospital setting and catapults George Brown College's Health Sciences faculty to the forefront of health education. George Brown is using a team-based, interdisciplinary approach where students from all its health sciences programs will work together to see how their roles interact and influence the care they give to the life-like mannequins. This experience will better prepare them to work in a health-care system that is evolving to improve patient care through a more team-based, collaborative approach. The purchase of high-tech mannequins was made possible through a grant of more than $600,000 as part of a larger contribution made by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to the nursing collaborative at Ryerson University, Centennial College and George Brown. George Brown College matched the government funds to complete the $1.2 million project, renovating the former Nursing Centre at the St. James campus facility. "The government is pleased to support today's health-care students to prepare them for caring for tomorrow's patients," said Smitherman. "By using new technology and promoting an inter-disciplinary approach in the health sciences programs, we are better preparing graduates to provide quality health care for Ontarians." The mannequins that serve as patients are instrumental to the faculty's collaborative teaching approach. They can be programmed to experience change in heart rate, blood pressure and breathing, all of which can be monitored by students in the traditional manner. The mannequins can also react to injections and speak (with the aid of an instructor in an adjoining video broadcast room). Today students demonstrated care for a mannequin in medical distress. The "patient" was treated by a team of health-care students from George Brown's nursing, gerontology / activation and personal support worker programs alongside second-year University of Toronto medical students from St. Michael's Hospital. The innovative partnership with St. Michael's helps create an authentic health-care setting by involving students representing many of the health system's professions. "The education of health sciences students is evolving along with the changing health-care system," said Lorie Shekter-Wolfson, Dean of Community Services and Health Sciences, George Brown College. "By introducing the Interprofessional Learning Clinic and the Simulated Practice Centre at the college we are narrowing the gap between the theoretical learning of our students and the practical experience they will gain in the health-care system. This way, they can be catalysts to support the change to a system that delivers better patient care." About the Centre for Health Sciences at George Brown CollegeGeorge Brown College's Centre for Health Sciences is a key contributor to improving the quality of health care delivery in Ontario. A leading health care educator, George Brown College prepares health sciences graduates to support collaborative practice and patient-centred care with interprofessional-focused, team-based education. Students can study at George Brown for such health care professions as Nursing, Dental Health, Health and Wellness and Health Services Management.
About George Brown CollegeToronto’s George Brown College has established a reputation for equipping students with the skills, industry experience and credentials to pursue the careers of their choice. From its two main campuses located across the downtown core, George Brown offers 148 full-time and 1,600 continuing education programs across a wide variety of professions to a student body of approximately 63,000 (including those enrolled in full-time, part-time and continuing education programs). Students can earn diplomas, post-graduate certificates, industry accreditations, apprenticeships and four-year bachelor degrees. -30- For more information, please contact: Paul Zanettos Return to: News Releases - George Brown College View also: Latest News at George Brown College Upcoming Events at George Brown College
Revised: February 5, 2007
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