OOF Supports New Patient Sim Lab

Warren General Hospital Fund Provides Grant

St. Joseph Health Center in Warren opened a new patient simulation laboratory, January 25, 2008, with a dedication and blessing ceremony.

The hospital was able to construct the lab due to a $100,000 grant from the Ohio Osteopathic Foundation's Warren General Hospital Fund. In 2006, officials from the former Warren General Hospital gave the OOF $804,144 to support osteopathic medical education programs at St. Joseph.

OOA President William F. "Rusty" Emlich, Jr., DO, who also serves as chairman of the Foundation, and Executive Director Jon F. Wills participated in the ceremony.

"The Ohio Osteopathic Foundation is dedicated to promoting osteopathic education and research in our state, and I can think of no better way to prepare students, interns, residents, and hospital staff for excellence in patient care than by creating this state-of-the-art facility in the hospital's Department of Education," Emlich said.

Emlich explained Warren General Hospital, now St. Joseph Health Center, has served as an important training site for osteopathic physicians since it was originally dedicated on October 16, 1958. He noted today, as a member of the Humility of Mary Health Partners, it continues to serve as an important training institution affiliated with the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens and the Ohio Osteopathic Hospital Association in Columbus.

SimMan is a key component of the new lab. The computerized human patient simulator breathes, speaks, has heart, breath and bowel sounds, as well as pulses that can be felt.