Cadence Health Receives $1 Million McCormick Foundation Grant

Establishes The McCormick Foundation Simulation Training Center

WINFIELD, Ill., Sept. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cadence Health today announced the Robert R. McCormick Foundation has awarded the system a $1 million grant to establish the McCormick Foundation Simulation Training Center at Central DuPage Hospital. The Simulation Training Center is scheduled to open later this year.

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"Cadence Health has a deep commitment to patient care through education and practice," said David D. Hiller, President and CEO of the McCormick Foundation. "This learning center will bring together teams of specialists for hands-on learning that helps them put the latest clinical advances into immediate practice."

The simulation training institute will replicate real-world clinical settings, including a critical patient care room, emergency department and trauma care.  These settings will feature high-tech adult and child manikins that mimic real-life audible patients' sounds, and even pupillary reactions.

"The grant from the McCormick Foundation to establish the training center is a perfect example of the foundation's commitment to strengthening communities and fostering leadership and civic responsibility," said Chris Hensley, President, Cadence Health Foundation. "This gift will help advance health care throughout the western suburbs."

The new technology makes it possible to create a realistic, controlled environment that imitates real-life patient experiences closely enough to enable health care professionals to practice, refine skills and coordinate treatment plans in a collaborative, team environment. Physicians, medical assistants, patient care technicians, registered nurses, EMTs, paramedics, pharmacists and therapists gain skills that will provide care not only to people in need of medical care within the hospital, but also throughout the community during natural disasters.

"The Simulation Center will allow health care professionals the opportunity to participate in an active learning environment by replicating real-life clinical experiences," said Michelle Olech Smith, MSN, RN-BC, Clinical Simulation Administrator, Cadence Health. "By offering simulation experiences, we'll be able to assess and examine ways to improve patient safety and enhance the quality of patient care."

In addition, fire districts, EMS systems, school districts, private ambulance companies, police and sheriff departments, hospitals, dispatch offices and other community groups will be invited to participate in simulation drills.

When fully operational, an estimated 5,000 healthcare professionals, 1,000 community residents and 8,000 high school students will train annually at the simulation center.

About Cadence Health
Cadence Health was formed in March 2011 as a result of the merger between Central DuPage Health System based in Winfield, Ill., and Delnor Community Health System based in Geneva, Ill. Cadence Health is a locally based, locally governed health system focused on delivering excellent health care to the more than 1.1 million patients in Chicago's western suburbs. For six of the past seven years (2006-2010, 2012), Central DuPage Hospital (CDH) has been selected by Truven Health Analytics as one of the "100 Top Hospitals in the U.S." Delnor Hospital recently received accreditation by the American College of Surgeon's National Accreditation Program of Breast Centers for the Delnor Center for Breast Health. CDH and Delnor currently maintain affiliations with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago for pediatric specialty care and Cleveland Clinic for cardiac surgery, adult medical oncology, and cardiology services. Both hospitals have achieved Magnet® recognition for excellence in nursing services from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Cadence Health employs more than 6,100 professionals providing care across an interdependent network of healthcare organizations. Cadence Health also includes Cadence Physician Group, a local network of more than 225 primary care physicians and specialists on the medical staff at CDH or Delnor Hospital. For more information or to find a doctor, please visit www.cadencehealth.org.

About Cadence Health Foundation
Cadence Health Foundation seeks philanthropic gifts to advance excellent healthcare for people in the communities it serves.  Established in 2012, Cadence Health Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible and come from a wide range of generous donors, including current and former patients, family members, employees, physicians and other supporters.

About the Robert R. McCormick Foundation
The Robert R. McCormick Foundation is committed to fostering communities of educated, informed and engaged citizens. Through philanthropic programs, Cantigny Park and museums, the Foundation helps develop citizen leaders and works to make life better in our communities. The Foundation was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation's largest foundations, with more than $1 billion in assets. To learn more about the McCormick Foundation visit McCormickFoundation.org, follow us on Twitter at @McCormick_Fdn, or like us on Facebook.

SOURCE Cadence Health