UPMC and Laerdal Medical Corp. Partner to Improve Simulation-Based Training in Health Care

SimMedical Co., a subsidiary of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), and Laerdal Medical Corp. today announced an agreement to jointly develop and distribute simulation-based training curricula and consulting services that will help to save lives.

The partners bring a wealth of medical simulation experience to this new venture. SimMedical is a commercial outgrowth of the training done at the world-renowned Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation, Education and Research (WISER), one of the largest health care simulation centers affiliated with an academic medical center. Part of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, WISER trains more than 3,100 health care professionals annually. Using life-like, computerized simulators from Laerdal, WISER has developed courses to train physicians, nurses and emergency responders in everything from airway management to advanced interdisciplinary medical teamwork.

Under the new agreement, Laerdal, famous for its Resusci® Anne CPR training mannequin, will have the exclusive rights to sell courses produced by SimMedical, including one for hospital-based “rapid response teams,” which quickly respond to save failing patients, and training for nurses in the proper procedures and techniques to use until these medical teams arrive.

Laerdal’s sales force will market the courseware, along with the company’s expansive line of medical education and acute care products, to the health care community. The offering of these first two courses is particularly timely because the Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, has mandated training for rapid response teams starting in 2009.

“Health care providers have a great need for the proven, simulation-based curricula that only SimMedical can offer,” said Tami Merryman, chief executive officer of SimMedical and chief quality officer at UPMC. “By partnering with a simulation products leader such as Laerdal, these life-saving courses now will reach a much broader audience of health professionals and help countless numbers of patients.”

“SimMedical’s advanced educational software perfectly complements Laerdal’s products and our mission of helping to save lives,” said Clive Patrickson, president and chief executive officer of Laerdal Medical. “We are proud to offer SimMedical’s curricula and services to our customers and look forward to jointly developing new courses in the months ahead.”

SimMedical and Laerdal, which expect to produce and market up to six courses each year, will also team up to offer simulation consulting and on-site courseware development to the health care market. SimMedical helps customers analyze their simulation-based training needs, design and build simulation centers, and manage the personnel and programs in such facilities.

SimMedical is part of the International and Commercial Services Division of UPMC, which commercializes the health system’s medical and technological expertise around the world for the benefit of its patients and communities. SimMedical exclusively licenses course software from WISER and UPMC to produce simulation-based curricula for the health care market. For more information, go to www.SimMedical.com.