In this Issue

• President's Update
• Executive Director's Update
• SHSC Conference Update
• KoSSH Conference Update
• Newly SSH Accredited Centers
• SimGHOSTS
• Emergency Medicine Section Update
• Simulation Operations & Technology Section Update
• Member Spotlight - Bob Armstrong
• Member Spotlight - Seth Jones
• Member Spotlight - Jordan Halasz

SimGHOSTS

The 5th annual healthcare simulation technology hands-on training event SimGHOSTS USA is being hosted by the Cedars-Sinai Women's Guild Simulation Center this August 4th-7th in sunny Los Angeles California.

The 1st annual SimGHOSTS-ASPiH UK event takes place July 27-29th in Leeds at the NHS Horizon Center, and the 1st annual SimGHOSTS Middle East event takes place in Dubai November 23-25th.
 

• Manikin programming and repair
• Audio/visual system design, integration and consolidation
• IT networking and debugging
• Trauma moulage makeup
• Video production and editing
• Team communication and technical leadership
• Medical pharmacology for non-healthcare staff
• Professional development workshops
• And much more...

Emergency Medicine Section Update

By Danielle Hart

The Emergency Medicine Section members had a record number of presentations this year at IMSH: 50!  Following IMSH this year, the EM Section has been hard at work developing our SimConnect Community, maintaining our mentorship project (pairing up novice and experienced simulationists within the Section), and creating a number of working groups.  These working groups are exploring and developing the following projects: 1) Recommendations on Implementing Progressive Simulation (ie. progression from EMS to ED to OR, etc), 2) Creating a "Simulation Guide for Novices", and 3) Developing and Piloting a Return on Investment (ROI) tool for use by simulation centers.  A number of our members are also collaborating with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's (SAEM) Simulation Academy on a number of projects, such as examining Simulation as an Assessment Tool for Emergency Medicine Milestones led by Danielle Hart, and developing a Consensus Curriculum for EM Simulation Fellowships, led by Alise Frallicciardi.  We are looking forward to a fun and productive year!   

Simulation Operations & Technology Section Update

By Jordan Halasz

I really don’t consider myself as a chairman of this group. I look at this as a highly functional team, that I lead as best as I can. The current team consists of Co-Chair, Adam Dodson, Lead Simulation Specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine Simulation Center, Shelita Kimble from MD Anderson Cancer Center, who has been our secretary over the past 3 years, and Jamie Stiner, Operations Manager, UCLA Simulation Center at David Geffen School of Medicine.

This core group has been working very hard over the past several months brining the Technician and Technology community together and the SSiH closer together. Jamie, thru her role on the membership committee has been working to introduce the SSiH Sim Connect portal of the webpage to all of our members and we are using it to post meeting dates, meeting notes, and Discussion topics for the SOTS membership.

Adam and Emily Shaw and the Simulation Technology and Operations Resource Magazine, (STORM) committee has been meeting to bring this on-line magazine to print before the end of this year. They have been working with Dr. David Gaba and are hoping that this magazine will be a useful addition to the technically minded members of the SSiH. The online magazine will be a resource for simulation users across the globe.

We are currently in the process assisting to build the content for the Technology Track of the IMSH16 meeting.  We will be having a conference call with Jesika Gavilanes and the SSiH team to discuss the Technology Track for IMSH16.

With the board’s approval to move forward with the plan of having a SimOps meeting starting in 2016 thru 2020 we plan to continue the work that was done in SimOps14 to present top notch presentations and technology based hands on sessions in the coming years. With the success of that meeting as a base we will take the input we received from the participants of that meeting and improve the future meetings to give the technical community a great place to come and learn.

Member Spotlight - Bob Armstrong

Bob Armstrong serves as the Chair of the Meetings Oversight Commission for SSH.  Most days, you can find him at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia, where he is the Director of the Sentara Center for Simulation and Immersive Learning (SCSIL), Program Director of the National Center for Collaboration in Medical Modeling and Simulation (NCCMMS), and Director of Corporate Relations for the school.
 
Bob is relatively new to the medical world, but not to the larger area of modeling and simulation.  His education in and knowledge of modeling and simulation came during his twenty year career in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Given the opportunity to pursue a Master of Science in Computer Science at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, Bob developed an analytical simulation used to verify performance of a complex heterogeneous software scheduler as part of his thesis work.  For the rest of his Marine Corps career, when he was not serving in artillery units worldwide, he was running simulation centers or simulation programs focused on preparing Marines for warfighting and peacekeeping missions.  Bob created and ran several programs, totaling over $350 million annually, focused on training; most notably the Deployable Virtual Training Environment and the Combined Arms Command and Control Training Upgrade System.  Bob retired from the Marine Corps in 2005.
 
Joining EVMS in 2012, Bob has remained focused on creating collaborative opportunities between EVMS and government, not-for-profit, and commercial organizations looking to expand into the commercial healthcare market or improve the capabilities of existing tools.  Prior to joining EVMS, Bob was with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he provided simulation-based analysis, developed training tools, and drafted policy for Department of Defense clients.  Prior to his time at Booz Allen, Bob was Director of Technology at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center at ODU.

Member Spotlight - Seth Jones

Seth Jones has been a dedicated member of the Finance & Audit Committee since 2008 and recently assumed the vice-chair position. He remains dedicated to the Society and is motivated to continue his leadership for many more years. Seth recently served on the Nominations Committee and is currently on the Disclosure and COI Task Force for new policy development. Seth co-founded the EMS Affinity Group in 2013 and is serving as an IMSH content reviewer for the second year in a row.

Seth has presented at IMSH and other national events on topics including: improving performance in the recognition and treatment of sepsis using simulation-based education, building content and assessing performance in EMS education, leadership and simulation in EMS, and more. He has leveraged his experience as a Paramedic and educator with his post-graduate degree in medical and healthcare simulation to grow a successful career focusing on healthcare process and performance improvement.

Seth brings energy and enthusiasm to meetings and events in which he is involved and always strives to invoke thoughtful strategy to get things done. An entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his style of collaboration and leadership. It is apparent that he has considerable pride in being honest, ethical and hard working. There is no doubt that Seth thrives on being a part of this extremely important facet of a rapidly growing industry and is excited to have an opportunity to continue this work at a higher level.

Member Spotlight - Jordan Halasz

I started my simulation career approximately 22 years ago at The Center for Medical Simulation (CMS) in Boston, MA where I became the Director of Operations. Being under the tutoring of Jeffrey Cooper, PhD, and Daniel Raemer PhD, I feel they gave me the understanding and knowledge about using simulation as a teaching tool that I have used thru out my career.  While at CMS, I designed and was the lead instructor for the Technology Track of the Institute for Medical Simulation in Healthcare. From there I went on be become the Director of Simulation Services at The University of Miami, School of Nursing and Health Studies, before going to the University of Vanderbilt School of Medicine Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment (CELA) Operations Manager. I have also been involved in the design of over a dozen simulation centers around the world.

As an active member of the SSH I was the first Chairman of the Simulation Technology and Technicians Special Interest Group (SIG). Over the years I have presented technology based topics at the Annual IMSH Meeting. I have also Co-Chaired the Technology Track of the IMSH for 2 years. My latest presentation, at IMSH 14 was a 20 year retrospective look at the technical side of simulation. I am the current Chairman of the Simulation Operations and Technology Section.