On February 16th, 2026, the Marco Island Academy’s Science National Honor Society took a visit to the NCH Hospital Simulation Center located in the NCH Downtown Baker Hospital. The Simulation Center was created with the mission to improve healthcare and workers’ excellence through multidisciplinary and innovative simulation training
In total, the center has over 4,000 learners and offers over 600 classes for students to take. As a result, NCH has trained more than 190 Collier County first responders, and students have completed a total of 18,689 learning hours within the center.
The center offers a variety of controlled scenarios to prepare healthcare workers for real-life situations in the field. For example, NCH contains many high-fidelity adult and child manikins, each designed with a variety of different medical scenarios. Specifically, one of their manikins named “Victoria” is designed to simulate the birth of a child. In turn, allowing medical students to practice their craft without a life being on the line.
During their visit, SNHS students were welcomed by Tesa-Ann Smith, Coordinator of Standardized Patient and Simulation; Meredith Burt, Simulation Education Specialist, MSN, RN; Hope Goodwin, Director of Operations, RN, MSN, CHSE; and Dr. Read Quarles. Each staff member shared their personal experiences in their respective fields to provide insight into the different career paths in medicine.
Later, students were given a tour of the facilities. This included the exam rooms, operating rooms, high-fidelity manikins, and the Immersive Interactive room. In addition, students were able to see modern masterpieces of technology, such as the da Vinci 5– the latest generation of a robotic surgical system.
Science National Honor Advisor Brandon Swope stated, “I am grateful for the opportunity for our students to visit the simulation center and learn from those in the medical field. I truly enjoyed seeing NCH’s commitment to continued training and education in a friendly and supportive environment.”
SNHS members hope to visit the facility again next year as part of next year’s events to continue their growth and gain valuable experience.
