News & Updates
State funding will expand advanced simulation technology and hands-on medical training for students, residents and healthcare professionals
The Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine (MSOM) has received a $500,000 state grant through the Maryland Rural Health Transformation Program.
The funding will help pay for new simulation equipment and technology for MSOM’s 40,000-square-foot simulation center, one of the largest medical simulation learning centers in the country.
"Great healthcare starts with great education,” said Dr. Brian Kessler, D.O., dean of MSOM. “We are honored to receive this state investment, which strengthens our ability to provide innovative, simulation-based learning opportunities across the continuum of medical education. Students taking their first clinical steps, residents refining advanced skills and practicing clinicians committed to lifelong learning all will benefit from this award.”
The simulation center features 20 exam rooms designed to mimic real patient visits, four hospital and operating rooms, a virtual reality lab, more than 2,000 square feet of hands-on training space and a 50-table lab for osteopathic manipulative medicine.
"Meritus is serious about training our students with the latest technology,” said Dave Lehr, Meritus Health chief administrative officer and chief innovation officer. “This project will establish a state-of-the-art, hi-fi simulation that provides unique, hands-on learning opportunities. So before they provide direct patient care, our students will be highly skilled and uniquely practiced in clinical decision-making, teamwork and patient safety. This contributes to our goal of providing a world-class training environment."
In addition to medical students, the center is used by residents in the Meritus Graduate Medical Education Program and other Meritus medical staff for training and skill development.
The grant is part of the Maryland Department of Labor’s Rural Incentives for Strengthening Employment (RISE) in Healthcare program. RISE helps support and retain healthcare professionals in rural Maryland while also creating learning opportunities for future healthcare workers.
“By helping us prepare healthcare professionals at every stage of their careers, this grant advances the Meritus mission to improve the health of the communities we serve and helps ensure exceptional care remains close to home," Dr. Kessler said.
To learn more about the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, visit msom.org.
###
The Maryland Rural Health Transformation Program is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award to the Maryland Department of Health totaling $168,180,837.61 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents of this meeting are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.