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Blackhawk Tech, Monroe Clinic open house is Tuesday
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MONROE - Blackhawk Technical College and Monroe Clinic are sponsoring an open house to demonstrate the two new simulation mannequins the two institutions are using to educate students and professionals in the healthcare and public safety fields.

The open house will be held between 4 and 6 p.m. Tuesday in the St. Clare Center at Monroe Clinic. The adult and child simulation mannequins are being used by BTC students in the nursing, advanced nursing assistant and emergency medical services programs. Monroe Clinic, which houses the simulation lab, uses the mannequins for patient care and nursing orientation, certifications and in its residency program.

The open house will include tours of the simulation lab. A ribbon cutting ceremony with Thomas Eckert, BTC president; Michael Sanders, Monroe Clinic president and CEO; and members of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.

BTC and Monroe Clinic started to investigate collaborating on the simulation lab in 2013 and reached an agreement last June. BTC purchased the two mannequins from CAE Healthcare in Canada while Monroe Clinic provided the space needed for the simulation training.

One simulator mirrors the medical responses of a child of 6 and the other presents the medical challenges of an adult. A computer is used to activate a variety of medical reactions in the mannequins, which allows students to respond to medical situations in real time. Both mannequins have the ability to demonstrate changes in blood pressure and temperature based on a treatment being used.

There is voice simulation equipment in both, so the simulation operator can have the mannequins speak to the person being trained and describe different conditions. A camera system also has been installed, which allows those in training to benefit from a video review during the simulation debriefing process.

Sponsored by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, the Monroe Clinic offers health care in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.