The Simulating Emergency Action for Life team at Ascension Sacred Heart’s Studer Family Children’s Hospital has scaled pediatric emergency simulation across Florida, training more than 900 healthcare professionals at 13 locations across northwest, north central and northeast Florida. The mobile program delivered over 1,750 hours of continuing education credits and achieved an average participant rating of 2.9 on a 3-point Likert scale, reflecting near-maximum satisfaction and learning outcomes. The team uses high-fidelity mannequins and advanced simulation software to deliver tailored, high-acuity training designed to improve early recognition of pediatric distress and prevent full-code events. The program acquired and implemented two additional high-fidelity mannequins, enabling multi-patient scenarios that strengthen coordinated emergency response and interprofessional communication. The team has launched two research projects focused on measuring simulation training effectiveness in pediatric emergency care. The program expanded recently to add four facilities in Jacksonville, Fla., a pediatric infusion clinic, and recent and upcoming freestanding emergency departments. Studer Family Children’s Hospital also plans to establish a dedicated simulation center as the region’s first permanent hub for pediatric emergency education and research, and is pursuing acquisition of a high-fidelity premature 26-week-old mannequin to address neonatal high-acuity, low-frequency training needs.
