The Connecticut Institute for Primary Care Innovation (CIPCI), a collaboration between Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, is a regional resource for education, research and primary care leadership. During its renovation, the former 11,000-square-foot library was transformed into a model of technology-enabled training for medical students, residents and nurses. The AV design encompassed multipurpose spaces in addition to offices, casual spaces and a lobby.
The space consists of a SIM studio, control room and collaborative theater, all connected through building-wide, linked AV systems. The goal of the project was to integrate AV and simulation technology to meet CIPCI’s training needs, while being user-friendly and flexible. To create a premiere training and leadership facility, the design needed to incorporate functionality of a doctor’s office, with the technical capability of a collaborative workspace.
The highlight of the CIPCI—the SIM Studio—consists of three, permanent and fully functional, “headwalls,” that emulate a doctor’s office, a hospital patient room and an ICU room. Each room is equipped with sophisticated simulation technology, including electronic medical records and mannequins, as well as several computers and operator displays. A key to the success of the facility is the StudioCode evaluation software, which allows instructors and students to annotate simulations in real time, and is integrated into the AV design for portability. The control room, with its large viewing window into the SIM studio, is primarily intended for the technical operation of simulations, but may also be used to operate events in the collaborative theater. The theater is a multi-purpose space complete with projection capabilities and several panel displays, which may be used for presentations or as an immediate video conferencing space.
The AV design-build, especially in the SIM studio, was made possible through close working relationships between hospital administration, vendors, subject-matter experts and the Diversified team.
