Apr 20, 2015 3 min read

How much progress have we made in medical science over the last couple of centuries? Quite a lot. For proof, consider this:

On Dec. 14, 1799, George Washington died at age 67. He had developed a fever, certainly made worse by hours of horseback riding the day before in wretched weather that ended with him wearing wet clothes through dinner. His doctor treated Washington with a round of butter, molasses and vinegar – yum! – before he started rounds of bloodletting. Whether or not it was the bloodletting that ultimately led to Washington’s demise, it surely did not help. Whatever the illness was that seized Washington, in 2015 it likely would be dealt with through a visit to a doc-in-a-box outpatient medical center or, at worst, a couple of days in the hospital.

And think about this: Bloodletting was a regular part of medical treatment just two centuries ago – not all that long ago, when you consider the entire sweep of human history.

The great distance we have traveled in medicine, and how we can preserve and extend lives, is exemplified by the Washington Health System School of Nursing’s Simulation Center, which is teaching student nurses how to react in real situations with real patients.

As outlined in a story in the Total Health monthly section of this newspaper, which was delivered with the April 9 edition, the simulation center, which is undergoing an expansion that is due to be completed this summer, features two sophisticated robotic mannequins named Veronica and Hal that can blink and breathe, but can also suffer heart attacks, strokes and respiratory distress.

Veronica also comes equipped with an 8-pound infant mannequin, so student nurses can learn about complications and other situations in childbirth.

Just as airline pilots learn the tricks of the trade through simulators that show how the instruments in a cockpit work and how pilots should navigate an airplane in different circumstances, the nursing simulation center offers invaluable, hands-on experience.

According to Melissa Bedillion, a nursing student, “The mannequins are very similar to having real patients, and there are so many different things you can do with them. It’s helpful because you don’t necessarily get the opportunity to do some things with real patients … It helps your confidence. If you don’t do something right, you can practice it again.”

Proceeds from the April 11 charity ball at Southpointe Golf Club sponsored by the Washington Health System Foundation will be used to help cover the $780,000 cost of expanding the simulation center. Once completed, the center will include two adult simulator rooms, a pediatric simulator room, and a multipurpose room that be used to replicate what it would be like in a disaster training area, maternity room or operating room. The expanded simulation center could also be utilized by other medical professionals in the region to enhance their training.

These are things that hardly could have been imagined when George Washington lay dying and doctors were pondering how much more of his blood needed to be depleted to rid him of “bad humors.” Residents of the city and county that bear Washington’s name can be glad that something like the nursing simulation center is here, and be heartened by the role it will play in boosting the skills of health care professionals and improving the well-being of us all.