The University of Central Arkansas Foundation, Inc. received $215,500 to support the Nursing Simulation Lab in the Department of Nursing.
“Nursing has afforded me the opportunity to care for a lot of individuals,” said Elizabeth A. Blankenship, CEO of Southridge Village Nursing and Rehabilitation. “With our ability to give to the nursing program, the students will have some of the best technology available to them, and I believe it will assist in their training and education.”
Blankenship, along with her daughters and fellow UCA alumnae Ashley M. Blankenship and Gretchen E. Humphreys, made the gift in a presentation that included UCA faculty, staff and students in December of 2015.
“Thank you very much for your generosity,” said President Tom Courtway. “Thank you, more than anything else, for believing in UCA and believing in this college and this department.”
The gift will help outfit the Department of Nursing with a high-fidelity manikin, which is a patient simulator that aids students in training to work with real patients in the field, as well as cameras, microphones, a control station and other equipment to record student performance.
“The high-fidelity manikin will be remotely controlled by the instructor and modified in real time to evaluate the skill and problem-solving ability of a student or student team,” said Dr. Barbara Williams, chair of the Department of Nursing. “The student and/or instructor can then watch the video and determine performance gaps and identify areas for improvement or to evaluate the care.”