Learning center prepares today’s professionals for tomorrow’s health care needs

Recognizing that exceptional care begins with a highly skilled team, Baptist Health has opened the Baptist Center for Professional Excellence, a new facility dedicated to the professional development of its 15,000-strong workforce. The 42,066-square-foot center, located at San Marco East Plaza, brings all of Baptist Health’s training programs into one centralized location equipped with modern classrooms, seminar spaces and a state-of-the-art simulation lab designed to support experiential learning. Created to empower team members, the center will play a vital role in enhancing patient care and outcomes.

The new facility, home to Baptist Health’s Learning and Development, Epic Training and Revenue Cycle teams, is divided into two separate sections, with one area dedicated to classroom-based training and the other reserved for high-fidelity training via the advanced simulation lab. 

Meeting spaces, including the Dr. Michael A. Mayo, FACHE, Conference Center, and a suite of classrooms support a wide range of clinical and non-clinical training, from life support courses to revenue cycle and electronic health record management systems training. Additionally, the classrooms will also be used for various leadership development initiatives.

The 13,000-square-foot simulation lab, which opened in July, is five times larger than the health system’s previous simulation lab, made possible by the Homeyer Family’s support. Here in the new and improved space, team members and participants of Baptist Health Clinical School receive training in a variety of real-life clinical environments designed to enhance knowledge and skills, promote compassionate care and strengthen critical thinking.

“Training in settings that look and feel like the real thing helps health care teams successfully navigate the complex situations they face every day,” said Daniel T. Coulter, vice president, learning and development at Baptist Health. “It builds muscle memory, which supports consistent, quality care and better patient outcomes.”

Highlights of the new learning center include:

• 20 classrooms with a with a mix of technology-enhanced and traditional learning environments;

• Flexible conference spaces that can be configured based on need;

• Simulation-based education with high-fidelity simulations that leverage both “manikins” (special anatomically accurate models designed for training and simulation purposes) and standardized patients (people trained to portray patients in a simulated medical scenario), as well as task trainers, role play, case studies, electronic medical record documentation, gamification and virtual reality;

• High-fidelity manikins include adults, a child, an infant and a 24-week preemie, affectionally named “Sim Man 3G,” “Sim Man Essential,” “Sim Jr.,” “Sim Baby” and “Sim Newbie”;

• Two operating rooms precisely modeled after those at Baptist Health hospitals where team members can simulate surgeries with the same equipment and tools found in their day-to-day practice, enhancing both technical skills and teamwork in the operating room;

• Fully equipped spaces that replicate real clinical environments include: an ICU room; two nurses’ stations; two pre-op rooms; two NICU rooms; two labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) rooms; two pediatric rooms; two Baptist Primary Care patient rooms; four medical-surgical rooms; and two emergency department rooms; and

• A full-size ambulance, complete with working lights, sirens and sounds that mimic a diesel engine, donated by Clay County Fire Rescue to help team members gain familiarity with pre-hospital care challenges and improve collaboration with emergency responders.

“Our belief in continuous professional development is how we stay sharp, relevant and ready to take on tomorrow’s challenges, today,” said Michael A. Mayo, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “The new center embodies our never-ending pursuit of excellence, empowering us to innovate and adapt to meet our community’s evolving health needs.”

Information on the Baptist Health Clinical School and other professional development and training programs offered at Baptist Health can be found at BaptistJax.com.