In 2005, the State of South Carolina provided $5 million in funding to Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) for a Research Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) in Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety. The CoEE has three endowed chairs: the one in Patient Simulation Education and Research is held by John J. Schaefer III, M.D., an internationally recognized leader in this emerging field. Dr. Schaefer, a professor in anesthesia and perioperative medicine at MUSC, and director of the Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety Center (CEPSC) in Charleston, is charged with establishing a statewide network of simulation centers, the first of its kind in North America.
HSSC is a public-private partnership of the state’s largest research universities (Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina, and University of South Carolina) and health systems Greenville Health System, Palmetto Health and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. They share the vision of using health sciences research to drive economic growth and improve the state’s health status.
The Greenville HealthCare Simulation Center is the first of seven simulation centers that will open over the next two years. Centers are planned for Beaufort, Charleston, Clemson, Columbia (2) and Spartanburg. Each lab will be equipped with adult, child and infant patient simulators – computerized mannequins that simulate human physiology such as heartbeats, pulses, and the ability to breathe and cry.
Greenville Health System and Greenville Technical College are partners for the Greenville HealthCare Simulation Center.
Our Mission
To improve patient care, patient safety and healthcare education through the use of advanced instructional technology, which
- Improves efficiency of learning
- Improves effectiveness of learning
- Improves patient safety
- Increases the value of patient simulation through educational research
Values
Our values are respect, caring and innovation in healthcare education. We live our values through the application to education of adult learning concepts, the integration of patient care standards to curricula, the acceptance of new ideas, open communication, forward thinking and adherence to academic standards.