The University of Tennessee CHIPS

Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS). Image credit: UTHSC.

The University of Tennessee Health ScienceCenter opened a new chapter in health care education in Tennessee and beyond onMay 11, 2018, when the ribbon was cut on its new $39.7 million Center forHealthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS).

The 45,000-square-foot building on theMemphis campus is dedicated to improving the quality of health care deliverythrough education, research, assessment and enhanced clinical skills usingstandardized patients (actors trained to portray patients), high-fidelitypatient simulators (manikins), and virtual reality settings. The building,which took three years to complete, is the only one of its kind in Tennesseeand one of only a handful in the country.

The center allows students from the sixcolleges at UTHSC – Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions,Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy – to train together in simulation settings todevelop their skills in delivering team-based health care, which is the provenmodel for the highest-quality care today. Using the high-tech manikins,standardized patients, and simulated settings, UTHSC is able to providestate-of-the-art training under the safest conditions possible.

“We are changing the face of health careeducation,” said Chancellor Steve Schwab, MD. “Everyone who makes up a (healthcare) team trains as a team from day one.”

Each floor of the three-story building isdedicated to a different aspect of simulation training. The first floorincludes skills labs with multiple stations to allow students to focus onclinical skills and assessments. There is also a simulated home environment,where students can practice delivering in-home patient care.

The second floor houses a simulatedacute-care setting resembling a hospital environment with patient rooms and avariety of manikins that can be used to simulate everything from surgery tolabor and delivery.

The third floor will house the standardizedpatient program. It includes 24 patient exam rooms, as well as a communitypharmacy setting. The 24 patient exam rooms collectively constitute the RobertJ. Kaplan, MD, Clinical Skills Center, which was established in the UTHSCCollege of Medicine in 1999 and has been housed in other locations on campus.Named for Memphis dermatologist Robert J. Kaplan, MD, an alumnus, the KaplanCenter trains future health care professionals in clinical skills, includingphysical examination, medical history taking, and interpersonal communicationskills with standardized patients and manikins.

The lobby of the building is dedicated toKen Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE, executive vice chancellor and chief operationsofficer for UTHSC, who had the vision for the building and was the primarymover in its development

Chad Epps, MD, an anesthesiologist andleader in simulation education, was recruited to UTHSC in 2016 to be theexecutive director for the center.

The building is a reflection of a cultureat UTHSC that values this type of training, Dr. Epps said. “It’s mostdefinitely a statement to the community that this institution is making acommitment to improving the way health care professionals are trained and theway health care is delivered.” The center is also a resource for continuing educationfor the area’s health care community.

Dr. Epps has been active in simulation education, research, assessment and center management for more than 10 years. He was president of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and past chair of the Council on Accreditation of Healthcare Simulation Programs. He is published in the area of simulation-based, interprofessional education, and co-edited the textbook “Defining Excellence in Simulation Programs.”

Students practice in a team setting. Image credit: CHIPS.

CHIPS Fast Facts

$39.7 million Center for HealthcareImprovement and Patient Simulation, the University of Tennessee Health ScienceCenter, 26 South Dunlap, Memphis. World-Class Facility Grand Opened May 11,2018.

Simulation settings

Other features

Architect -brg3s (Received a 2018 Award of Excellence from AIA (American Institute ofArchitects) Memphis chapter for CHIPS)

General Contractor - Flintco

Simulation design, training, and programdevelopment consultant - SimHealth Group

Finalist: 2018 Building Memphis Award from Memphis Business Journal.

Originally published in  Issue 3, 2019 of MT Magazine.