Contributed LEARNING TOOL — The Jefferson County Joint Vocational School’s health technologies program will have a new high-tech tool on hand after receiving more than $63,000 from the Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust for a HAL nursing patient simulator. It will be the second such grant the school has gained, the first being for an Anatomage table to obtain a 3-D view of the human body. With the table are, from left, juniors Natily Stiltner, Alexis Kight, Katie Mavromatis, Journey West and Sofia Allen.

BLOOMINGDALE — The health technologies program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School is adding some high-tech equipment to make student learning even more realistic.

The program recently received a $65,371 grant from the Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust and plans to use the money to procure a HAL nursing patient simulator. The life-like mannequin features programs to mimic a variety of conditions and students can practice EKG, blood pressure, pulse and respirations, plus they can perform CPR and obtain feedback from the machine.

“Students can learn to recognize problems including acute sepsis, atrial fibrillation, COPD exacerbation, opioid overdose, diabetic ketoacidosis and a pulmonary embolism,” said Tammy Sismondo, program instructor. “These are all learning experiences for the students.”

The simulator is wireless and fully responsive, giving Sismondo’s pupils real-world experiences as they prepare for careers in the health field.

“The purpose of the simulator is to inspire patient outcomes for everyone. It’s an excellent learning tool for the students and they will receive safe and effective learning opportunities in a safe environment,” Sismondo said. “They will learn to give direct patient care. Hopefully by practicing, they will learn to recognize and be proactive when they are caring for patients.”

It is the second time the program has benefitted from the charitable trust organization since gaining $71,000 in 2022 for an Anatomage table in the lab. The 6-foot-long table features a dual touchscreen surface which gives students a 3-D view of the various organs and system functions of the human body, plus users can view more than 1,300 clinical cases from brain aneurysms to tumors as well as X-rays and virtual autopsies. It includes quizzes and games as well as images of animals that can be used for instruction in the animal science program. Additionally, officials acquired a large television screen to project the images and the equipment includes curriculum to aid instruction.

Sismondo was thankful for the allocation and hoped to have the simulator by the end of the school year.