Saturday, September 23, 2023
9/23/2023
As the Cedars-Sinai Health System (CSHS) continues to grow and expand across Los Angeles County, in-person access to our Simulation Center on our main campus becomes increasingly difficult for clinical care providers due to geographic distance, excessive patient workloads, and intermittent pandemic restrictions. This project delivers a solution that enables clinical care providers who cannot attend on-site simulations to experience the Simulation Center virtually and ensure they have access to all the educational opportunities offered daily on the main campus. The entirety of the work for this project will occur at the current Simulation Center at 127 South San Vicente, Los Angeles, CA 90048 (which is owned by CSHS). CSHS will invest in three core functions (audio/visual/control) in 18 rooms and multiple corridors within the current simulation center to connect to locations outside the main campus. These investments will enable a quality simulation education experience outside the main campus. • Audio – Upgrading the facilities at the Simulation Center allows for two-way audio communication with other locations. • Video – Enabling communication with remote facilities using telepresence technologies in virtual simulation, telepresence services, live virtual streaming, and the introduction of holographic systems providing a new level of virtual physical presence. • Control – Installing upgraded control room equipment will be an integral part of providing the remote simulation/education experience. CSHS will invest in a user interface, equipment, controls, software, and graphics, to digitally deliver the simulation experience to off-site locations. In addition to enhancing access to CSHS providers, these technologies will also enable access to virtual education for community support organizations, first responders, and education facilities such as schools and colleges. With the completion of this project, we will significantly enhance education by reducing the impact of geographic barriers to Simulation Center access. In 2020, Cedars Sinai learned that properly preparing large numbers of medical personnel to safely care for patients with COVID-19 required rapid and reliable training across our entire health system. Although the main campus is in Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai also has hospitals in the California communities of Marina Del Ray, Tarzana, and Torrance. The system has 2,000 beds, nearly 16,000 employees, and is ranked seventh in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Our Simulation Center hosts academic activities for as many as 20,000 learners annually but has a live streaming system designed only for the main campus on the main Cedars-Sinai campus. Cedars-Sinai is committed to expanding these streaming capabilities to enable the efficient delivery of simulation-based training not only at the other three Cedars-Sinai sites but potentially to 1) Enhance the ability of clinicians and other caregivers in our health system and other distributed locations, to interact in real-time with educators within our Simulation Center. This ability was not possible five years ago. However, with the latest technology in virtual and augmented reality, the participant’s location is irrelevant and does not require the medical provider to be physically on our main campus. 2) Develop education strategies focused on immersive experiences and virtual reality in our other locations to serve high acuity patients better and closer to their homes. 3) Test reliable methods to assess learners’ clinical competency and retention of knowledge. This technology is new, and Cedars-Sinai staff need to determine how to teach these skills most effectively via virtual and augmented reality and how these skills decay over time. All skills are perishable, and it is essential to determine the rate of decay over time to ensure clinical competency.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
