MOORHEAD — Minnesota State Community and Technical College opened its new health sciences simulation center Friday morning on the Moorhead campus. According to a release from the college, the 4,167 square-foot center is “the first of its kind in the region” and features four hospital rooms, an emergency/surgery room, a long-term care/in-home care room, debriefing rooms and talking mannequins that can help students practice skills like needle and catheter insertion. According to M State President Carrie Brimhall, the center “mirrors” real interactions students would have in health care settings. “It’s exactly what the students will be walking into when they leave M State and go into a career field,” she told The Forum. The center is designed to replicate lifelike situations and bring together students in various health care and emergency services programs, including nursing, phlebotomy, radiologic technology, criminal justice and more, the release said. The broad range of roles is designed to help students understand how they all interact with one another. “It’s beyond the person, the patient. It also involves family, law enforcement, child protection, other people come into the mix. Our students need to be able to respond in a high-pressure or conflict situation,” Brimhall said. The facility’s design started during the COVID pandemic in response to student’s desire to have more “real-world experiences and as many hands-on opportunities to learn as possible in a safe and controlled environment,” Brimhall said. The four hospital rooms allow for multiple simulations to take place at once, she said. The campus previously only had one simulation room. Brimhall said instructors in a control room can speak for the mannequins to provide prompts and symptoms for students to treat. The Moorhead center is part of a larger project to update health care simulation equipment on all four of M State’s campuses. Brimhall anticipates bringing students from across M State’s footprint to Moorhead to participate in full-day simulations. She also hopes to have high school students visit the facility. In addition to Moorhead, M State has campuses in Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes and Wadena. M State saw an 18% increase in health care enrollment this fall, Brimhall said. The college’s health care programs have a total of 1,157 health care students, accounting for 35% of the system’s total students. “When we put things like this high-end, unique and really one-of-a-kind opportunity in campuses for two-year college students, I think it really elevates the reputation of the work that we do,” Brimhall said.Related Articles Education | Motive is next key task for police investigating Wisconsin fatal school shooting Education | Teacher and a teenage student killed in a shooting at a Christian school in Madison, Wis. Education | As schools cut back on bus service, parents are turning to rideshare apps Education | U of M students interrupt Board of Regents meeting in protest for divestment Education | Pine City school district to pay $65K to student who was racially harassed