University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies Partners with Cardinal Health in High-Tech Nursing Education

Coral Gables, FL- (August 23, 2007) The statistics are staggering. Each year, hundreds of thousands of patients suffer negative outcomes, even death, as a result of medication errors. Since self-reporting is the most common source of information on these incidents and equally critical “near misses” are almost never reported, these costly errors often go unnoticed.

In an effort to contribute to the body of knowledge that improves nursing best practices and reduce medication errors, the School of Nursing and Health Studies is partnering with Cardinal Health, a leader in the area of integrated product solutions and services for the health care industry. State-of-the-art equipment Cardinal Health has donated to the school’s International Academy for Clinical Simulation and Research--including a Pyxis MedStation, Pyxis Supply Station, and Alaris Medical Pumps--will offer UM nursing students hands-on experience with medication management and dosage, inventory and supply management, and medical errors in a realistic yet controlled clinical environment.

“Improving patient and caregiver safety is central to Cardinal Health’s mission,” says Adriana Aguero Ayala, B.S. M.T. ‘81, Vice President for Corporate Solutions. “Our data show that errors in the prescribing, transcribing, dispensing and administering of drugs can be intercepted and dramatically reduced by care providers who have access to this technology.”

The school's Simulation Academy is the only such center equipped with the Cardinal Health technology. The Pyxis equipment, like that of actual hospitals, is routed to the Cardinal Health mainframe computer to facilitate technical management and maintenance, though its access to the Cardinal Health system is coded to ensure that communications from actual clinical sites take priority.

“Educating students about medication errors and patient safety is increasingly important in today’s complex health care environment,” says Nilda P. Peragallo, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies. “We are grateful for this contribution to our Simulation Academy pleased to partner with Cardinal Health in an effort to improve patient safety and nursing best practices throughout the chain of care.”

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Established in 1948 as South Florida’s first collegiate nursing program, the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami has a distinguished tradition of preparing nurses to provide compassionate, quality care to local, national and international communities. Nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are educated by renowned scholars and exposed to a broad range of clinical experiences and cutting-edge research. In February 2005, the School expanded its program offerings to include the University of Miami’s Health Science program and changed its name to the School of Nursing and Health Studies. The expanded curriculum includes programs leading toward the BSN, MSN, and PhD degrees as well as the BS in Health Science degree.

Among the first in the nation designed for nursing and health science education, the International Academy for Clinical Simulation and Research is one of the most ambitious projects on the University of Miami campus. Located on the second and third floors of the new M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies, the Simulation Academy serves the needs of approximately 500 nursing and health science students annually as well as hundreds of health care educators and professionals from around the globe. The academy is designed to emulate modern hospital and community practice environments. Academy facilities include: a one-bed operating theater, two-bed critical care suite, a seven-bed adult laboratory, and a seven-bed pediatric laboratory. A flexible design enables the academy to emulate a range of clinical settings, including an emergency department, operating room, and adult, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care units.