Photo // IU South Bend
GRAND PLANS. Students pose in front of Parkside Hall, waiting for the ribbon to be cut on the new Dwyer Healthcare Simulation Center.
By: Claire McKenna
Staff-Writer
On Sept. 10, IU South Bend celebrated the opening of the brand-new Dwyer Healthcare Simulation Center. From the many contributions of the community, this project was able to become reality.
Chancellor Susan Elrod acknowledged contributions from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County and help from the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership, who helped in applying for funding for some of the state-of-the-art equipment housed in the new center.
She also thanked Indiana Trust Wealth Management and their representative David Kibbe, who implemented the lead gift over $5 million, and Vera Z. Dwyer, who was the driving force behind this project. Dwyer had a wish to leave the community with meaningful healthcare improvements, and her wish has finally come true. Kibbe asked for a round of applause for Vera, who died in 2010.
“I’d like us all to thank someone that no one here ever met,” Kibbe told the students. “Vera never had children of her own, but all of you are now part of her legacy.”
The students said they are grateful for the equipment and the ability to practice techniques that they have not been able to do before. Nursing student Seth Craig is one of the students who can use these facilities. He said he is excited about the hands-on experience he will gain using this center. He explained that the simulation center is now home to hospital beds, oxygen flow meters and vital sign carts including blood pressure cuffs.
“We also have realistic mannequins that blink, can ‘talk’, and move to show breathing patterns,” he said. There is also a kitchen for nursing students and equipment for radiology students.
It is important that these students get properly trained. Chancellor Elrod emphasized that “90% of our health sciences graduates stay and work at medical facilities in this region,” so not only will the students benefit from this center, but the community will as well.
“The sim center will benefit me as a student by providing me with invaluable learning experiences to help me further understand how to treat a patient,” Craig mentioned.