Blue & You Health Education Simulation Center

Mission Statement

North Arkansas College's HESC will provide enhanced training for current healthcare providers, accelerated clinical experiences to expand health career program enrollments, and increased access to healthcare for underserved populations by training future healthcare workers.

About the Facility

The Blue & You Foundation Health Education Simulation Center opened its doors at Northark's South Campus Allied Health Wing in 2017. The center provides a realistic hospital-type setting for students to learn and enhance their critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills.

The Center alleviates pressure on strained clinical sites, allows students to safely learn critical jobs skills in a forgiving environment, gives students the opportunity to reflect on their thinking and actions, engages students in planned simulation events and increases patient safety.

The Center was funded by the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, Northark Foundation and Perkins Grant.

Medical - Surgical Rooms

There are two medical-surgical rooms that provide simulation learning activities that can be set up as ER, ICU/CCU and general medical-surgical scenarios. Typically a high fidelity manikin is used as the patient but standardized patients may also be utilized. The manikins optimize learning by being able to interact with students and mimic realistic symptoms of diseases.

Birthing Suite

The birthing manikin simulates normal deliveries and has the capability of providing for high-risk birthing situations. Health profession students gain knowledge, skills and experience in caring for the pregnant patient and a newborn.

Med Prep Room

The medication preparation room allows health profession students to access an electronic medical record, prepare medications for administration and access general supplies that typically would be needed for the care of hospitalized patients.

Home Simulation Room

A unique feature in the HESC is the home-setting room. This rooms allows for replication of home visits by students. It can also be used as a long term care setting and for a counseling room as the need arises. Home births are simulated in this room for the paramedic students to gain experience in handling birthing emergencies.

Handler's Room

The handler’s room allows for the video recording and management of the manikin’s reactions to the health profession student’s interventions. One way mirrors allow the evaluator and handler to directly monitor the scenario. The audio video recording system allows for a rich debriefing session once the simulation is completed. Simulations may be live streamed into classrooms on campus.

Debriefing Area

The simulation center's debriefing area allows students to reflect after a simulation is completed. This time allows students to identify areas of strengths and areas needing improvement. The debriefing session is conducted to not only give students a chance to reflect but also provides feedback, communication, self-analysis and confidentiality.


Vi Sims Health Education Simulation Center Director 870-391-3127 vi.sims@northark.edu	Grant Davis Simulation Operation Technician 870-391-3534 grant.davis@northark.edu