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Tampa, FL, March 13 — The newly opened USF Health Simulation Center at Tampa General Hospital now offers Medical Simulation Corporation's (MSC) SimSuite® technology for a variety of training and simulation applications, including use in conjunction with the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification Program.

The new Center is one of only six simulation centers in the nation — and the only one in the Southeast — to offer ABIM's Interventional Cardiology Simulations, which use MSC's SimSuite technology. ABIM is the organization that grants Board Certification to internists and subspecialists, including interventional cardiologists who can complete Interventional Cardiology Simulations as elective part of their ABIM Maintenance of Certification.

MSC's SimSuite technology replicates a real-life catheterization lab, and the five case scenarios developed by ABIM for Interventional Cardiology Simulations mirror what an interventional cardiologist would typically face in daily practice. Simulated cases address cognitive and procedural skills in performing interventional cardiology procedures, and discriminate between novice and advanced skill levels of physicians performing interventional cardiology procedures.

USF Health joins the prestigious roster of the nation's leading academic and private health centers in providing cutting-edge SimSuite technology for acquisition and demonstration of skills by interventional cardiologists. Other hospital-based SimSuite Education Centers offering physicians Interventional Cardiology Simulations include: Duke University Medical Center, University of California at Davis Health System, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, The Methodist Hospital in Houston and Ohio Health's Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

"This recognition and substantial capital investment in partnership with Medical Simulation Corporation and Tampa General Hospital is yet another step towards USF Health achieving national prominence for its leadership in medical education and the improvement of clinical care through technology," said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. "Not only will patients benefit from the new skills and certification of the skills achieved by interventional cardiologists, but there will be significant advances in patient safety, quality improvement, and outcomes consistent with recent Institute of Medicine recommendations."

"Simulation provides a unique opportunity to acquire or demonstrate skills in interventional cardiology and will provide measurable gains in patient safety not only for Floridians but also for physicians who will travel to Tampa from throughout the United States," said Deborah Sutherland, PhD Associate Vice President for Continuing Professional Development at USF Health. "This will be a significant contribution to the local economy and contribute to Tampa's growing prominence in national and international health."

"The physicians and staff at Tampa General Hospital recognize the unique characteristics of the SimSuite," said Ron Hytoff, CEO of Tampa General Hospital. "This collaborative partnership will bring increased prominence to Tampa as one of the major medical centers in the United States committed to improvement of patient health in a safe clinical environment."

Alan Goldman, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, and Anne Curtis, M.D. Professor and Chief of the USF Division of Cardiology and Director of USF Cardiovascular Services, both see the implementation of the Center as clearly demonstrating USF Health's investment in supporting physicians to improve the health of Floridians and others.

SimSuite technology will be used as an adjunct to assure clinical competency of physicians-in-training (resident physicians) as they acquire skills by practicing on simulators before applying the care to patients. The USF Health Simulation Center at Tampa General Hospital provides realistic, risk-free training for tomorrow's doctors in a controlled, high-tech environment.

MSC began its work with ABIM in 2003, to investigate the potential of using simulation technology as an evaluation tool in interventional cardiology. Ten clinical centers participated in the study, in which 120 physicians with varying levels of expertise completed six cases.

About USF Health
USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida's colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.