The move of the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation to the Downtown Phoenix campus from the Tempe campus last August meant much more than a change of address to the college's Learning Resources Center (LRC).

The LRC, which provides critical clinical education for the ASU nursing students, nearly doubled space for clinical labs and modernized its facilities.

Manager Ruth Brooks said the move to the downtown campus enabled the LRC to grow to nearly 12,500 square feet. The expansion was required because of increased emphasis on simulation lab practice that is driven by doubling of student enrollments, a shortage of clinical placements, and the increasing acuity or severity of patient health needs.

The new LRC facility has a fully equipped, 2,500 square-foot Computer Library Commons that has specialized software programs for individual student use, as well as mediation equipment to view materials in preparation for class and clinical assignments.

The new LRC facilities are located in the Mercado complex, a short walk from the Nursing and Healthcare Innovation building on North Third Street . Improvements in the new downtown location compared to the former facility at the Tempe campus include four fully mediated simulation rooms (compared to one previously); 22 hospital beds (compared to seven previously) situated in four different rooms to allow flexibility in use; 12 health assessment lab beds (compared to eight previously); and a 40 percent increase in storage space. These additions provide realistic clinical practice for 240 undergraduate and more than 50 graduate students each semester at the Downtown Phoenix campus.

A recent and important addition to the LRC is the Educational Simulation Program (ESP). Simulation coordinator Beatrice (Bunny) Kastenbaum explains that SimMan – a full-body, anatomically accurate mannequin with software programmed physiological vital signs – provides students practice to detect serious complications and helps them gain clinical decision-making and communication skills through realistic patient care scenarios in a safe environment. SimMan breathes and speaks, registers a blood pressure, has a heart that pulses, and has veins. The lab coordinators on all campuses work together sharing patient care scenarios and ideas to increase the realism of practice for the students.

This spring, SimBaby joined SimMan to enhance pediatric and obstetrics clinical labs in the College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation undergraduate curriculum.

The SimBaby mannequin may be small, but it's expensive. Pending available funds, the College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation hopes to obtain SimBaby mannequins for the nursing programs at the West and Polytechnic campuses.

In the midst of the move downtown, the LRC staff found the program to have an impact on the community. Several staff have played a leadership role in forming the Arizona Simulation Network, a group of more than 38 health care providers and educators across the state interested in advancing the use of simulation in their facilities.