CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Charlottetown hospital is now home to a new mother/infant simulator, thanks to a $75,000 multi-year pledge from a large Island dairy.
Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL) represents over 165 P.E.I. family-owned dairy farms and omploys more than 300 staff across the province.
Several ADL board members visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital recently to see the high-tech, interactive mannequins now available to train health care providers and make sure the best care possible is there for newborns and their mothers in the province.
“This is such a wonderful project to be a part of, knowing we are supporting the best possible outcomes for the thousand Island babies born every year,” says John Wood, ADL president.
The equipment consists of two patient simulators, a mother and baby. The high-tech, interactive mannequins can replicate a range of realistic birthing scenarios that arise in the delivery room. The mannequin patients can be programmed with varying vital signs such as fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate and will respond in real-time to the maneuvers and treatments of the staff or student.
"What this equipment gives us is a more highly skilled and confident staff," says Kathy Larter, nurse manager.
“The equipment is used daily by new graduates, residents in training as well as staff who are upgrading their skills. We love it.”
Staff receives competency-based learning and proactive training during both routine and complicated delivery simulations. Instructors can adjust the mannequins to introduce new challenges mid-scenario.
“It’s much more realistic than anything we’ve used for training in the past,” says Nicole Walsh, RN and QEH obstetrical clinical nurse educator.
“Staff can see immediately the impact of their decisions and actions.”
Ed Lawlor, chair of the QEH Foundation Board, said it was ADL’s donor support that enabled this technology to come to the Island.
“We appreciate what ADL has done to ensure the Island’s most vulnerable patients and their families can continue to receive high quality care here at home, in P.E.I.,” says Lawlor.
ADL has supported the QEH Foundation for 25 years and is recognized on the QEH Foundation Donor Wall at the Silver Level ($250,000-$499,999).
