Tidewell Hospice Develops Simulation Lab for Clinical Training

Tidewell Hospice, an affiliate of Empath Health, has enhanced its clinical training program with a simulation lab in its Bradenton, Florida location.

The lab is designed to give new hospice clinicians hands-on experience and hone their skills before they go out to engage directly with patients and families.

A centerpiece of the lab is two interactive medical mannequins that stand in the role of a patient and a caregiver. Tidewell named the pair Apollo and Ares. The mannequins are programmed to simulate conditions and symptoms ranging from labored breathing, bowel disorders and behaviors such as smoking close to an oxygen supply, among others.

The lab provides learning opportunities for clinicians who have worked in other clinical settings and now wish to enter the hospice field, according to Anita Smith, director of clinical education at Tidewell Hospice. 

“The simulation lab allows the new caregivers to practice the specialty care of hospice and really learn what hospice care is in a realistic environment prior to going into the patient’s homes,” Smith told Hospice News. “It’s a safe place to learn how to care for hospice patients. It’s a safe place to make mistakes or say the wrong thing.”

The mannequins are high-fidelity equipment, according to Smith. This means that Apollo and Aries can mimic “all kinds of” physiological functions, she said. The mannequins can also be programmed to ask difficult questions and provide candid responses to providers’ own inquiries. 

“I’m really focusing a lot on ‘soft skills’ and difficult conversations, such as what to say to a patient and when to say it,” Smith said. “So that is a great place to practice some of those things, so we’re a little bit more prepared when a patient asks us a question maybe we weren’t prepared for.”

The lab also includes a cloud-based system that records the simulation, which later can be played back for trainees and their facilitators to discuss what was done right and where improvement is needed.

Tidewell financed the lab primarily through philanthropic donations.

The Florida-based hospice provider became part of Empath Health when that organization merged with fellow nonprofit Stratum Health in 2020. Tidewell was previously a Stratum affiliate.

Empath provides hospice, home health care, primary care, palliative care, PACE, AIDS and sexual wellness care, and adult day services to a combined total of more than 23,000 individuals. The organization is the parent company of 17 affiliates and two philanthropic foundations.

In addition to Tidewell, Empath also operates Suncoast Hospice.

“The overall goal of the lab — especially with those moving into specialty hospice nursing and hospice care in general — is to bridge that gap between learning and practice by providing that comprehensive realism that our caregivers are going to see in the patient’s home,” Smith said. “It also really helps the caregiver become more comfortable and confident to be able to care for that hospice patient and improve our overall patient and family outcomes.”