The City University of New York and NYU Langone Medical Center are joining together to create a 25,000-sq-ft ,state-of-the-art urban health science simulation training facility located on the third floor of Bellevue Hospital at 462 First Avenue.

The New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences is being designed by Ballinger Associates of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and will feature eight simulation rooms including operating rooms, a wet room/disaster training room, ICU/trauma rooms and 14 patient examination rooms, as well as conference and classroom space. The new center will train a range of health professionals including students, staff and residents from the NYU School of Medicine, the NYU Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing, CUNY nursing schools, CUNY allied health professional schools and CUNY emergency medical technician programs. The center will also be available for training emergency management workers from a variety of city agencies, Lower Manhattan community groups, businesses and volunteer ambulance services. In addition, New York Downtown Hospital will use the center for decontamination and other emergency management training exercises.

The Borough of Manhattan Community College has received $21 million in state and capital funds for construction of the facility and will be CUNY’s lead institution at the center.

“CUNY is committed to providing its students with access to the most innovative educational resources available and the New York Simulation Center for Health Services clearly meets that goal,” said CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. “Our new health care simulation center will be the centerpiece for simulation training, for CUNY and NYU Langone Medical Center students and staff and for emergency responders in New York.

Construction on the center has already begun and is expected to be completed by September 2011.

-Carolina Worrell