Fred Van Looy and Barbara Dougherty, of Jackson, longtime supporters of Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, have bestowed a generous gift to ensure modern ongoing education for current and future clinicians through the establishment of a state-of-the-art simulation-based health care education center at MMCSC.
The Fred Van Looy and Barbara Dougherty Learning Center for Interprofessional Education and Simulation will be located within the hospital and provide hands-on learning opportunities for caregivers in a realistic environment. Simulation-based training is a powerful teaching resource, particularly in health care, that offers instant performance feedback in a safe environment and fosters multidisciplinary teamwork.
With more than 40 years of philanthropic leadership at MMCSC, the couple is committed to investing in health care to benefit the community. Over the years, they have generously gifted MMCSC to support both the Geriatric Emergency Department and the James and Sharon Maida Geriatrics Institute.
“Barbara and I believe in ongoing education and recognized the need for a simulated learning environment at MMCSC. We’re so pleased to support the hospital’s commitment to ensuring that the highest-quality and safest care is provided each and every day,” Van Looy said. “Establishing an in-house learning center for safe, hands-on skills training supports our belief that continuing education is essential, especially in health care.”
“The ability to simulate medical training situations is invaluable to our care teams,” Dr. Philip Passes, chief administrative officer, said. “With the combination of rapidly advancing medical, safety and quality standards, mastery of skills prior to working with patients is crucial to the safest, highest quality care. We are incredibly thankful to Fred and Barbara for generously supporting innovative ongoing clinical education at MMCSC.”
“Our commitment to patient safety and patient satisfaction is reflected in the recent recognition of Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus by Leapfrog with an ‘A’ safety rating,” Mabel LaForgia, vice president of patient care services, said. “Nursing education and cross-discipline collaboration is critical to maintaining and improving our exceptional patient outcomes. A simulated learning environment such as this offers a no-harm, hands-on learning opportunity, which is essential for practicing new processes and procedures.”
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