Kettering College’s $2.7 Million Renovation on IPE Simulation Center Complete

Story by Lauren Brooks

Kettering College held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the completed renovation of the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Simulation Center on January 23, 2020.

Members of Kettering College’s board, Kettering Health Network executive leadership, Kettering College faculty and staff, were all in attendance for the ribbon cutting.

“This isn’t just a space for our nursing students,” said, Nate Brandstater, Kettering College President. “It’s a technologically-advanced educational space for Kettering Health Network learners and beyond, that’s second to none.”

The $2.7 million project was funded by the Kettering Health Network Strategic 2019 capital funds according to Nicholas Henson, director of finance and administration. “The vision of Kettering Health Network is to be the leader in transforming the healthcare experience,” Henson said. “The IPE Simulation Center allows students to discover the best practices in a multi-disciplinary environment, resulting in our students delivering healthcare in a collaborative approach that is industry leading.”

The first phase of this renovation was completed in August of 2019, which included the addition of a preparation room, additional space and workstations in the control room. The second phase, which was just completed, included 10 client care beds—one of which mirrors a labor and delivery/postpartum setting, a pediatric patient room, a nursing station, a classroom, a conference room and a faculty work room.

This extension allows eight to 10 simulations concurrently, allowing more than one group of nursing students to participate in a simulation at a time. This doubles the number of simulations students could participate at one time.

The expansion to the IPE Simulation Center was a strategic move from administration as Kettering College recently moved to a two-entry admission structure, which accepts nursing students in both the fall and winter semesters. 

The IPE Simulation Center at Kettering College provides more than 400 clinical simulations a year, mostly for students from nursing, respiratory care, physician assistant, and other programs. Health care professionals from Kettering Heath Network hospitals also take part in simulations to hone their clinical skills.