Top Left: Under the agreement, Lee Health will use FSW’s operating room (OR) suite and simulation lab for health care training.
Top Right: FSW President Jeff Allbritten welcomes newest FSW Trustee John Dulmer.
Bottom: "This elevates who we are. For students to learn with this type of equipment at a college is amazing,” said FSW Trustee Danny Nix, pictured far left.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) and Lee Health are expanding their partnership to provide advanced, hands-on training opportunities for physicians, nurses, interns and residents through a new facility use agreement approved Tuesday by the FSW Board of Trustees.
Under the agreement, Lee Health will use FSW’s operating room (OR) suite and simulation lab for health care training. The partnership gives Lee Health access to FSW’s OR equipment and simulation resources, including an anesthesia machine and medical mannequins. Lee Health also will bring its own simulation equipment, which will remain at FSW, giving students additional opportunities to train on real-world hospital equipment.
“This mutually beneficial partnership gives FSW students the opportunity for greater utilization of simulation technology, gaining the hands-on experience that will prepare them for their careers,” said Dr. Jeff Allbritten, president of FSW. “As the largest supplier of nursing students in the region for Lee Health, FSW is proud to help build the health care workforce our community needs.”
FSW’s simulation environments are designed to give students hands-on experience in realistic clinical situations before they enter patient care settings. The OR suite and simulation lab provide opportunities to practice procedures, teamwork, communication and clinical decision-making using equipment and technology that mirror professional health care environments.
"Lee Health saw the value in the learning environment we have created at FSW, and through a series of conversations, we identified an opportunity to bring our resources and their expertise together,” said Dr. Susan Holland, dean of FSW’s School of Nursing. “This is exactly the kind of collaboration that strengthens our nursing program while helping advance health care education and workforce development across Southwest Florida.”
The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two organizations. Lee Health previously worked with FSW by visiting the college’s virtual reality lab, where students use immersive technology to practice clinical scenarios in a virtual environment.
Tony Wright, MSN, RN, CNE-CL, supervisor of Nursing Professional Development-Corporate at Lee Health, said the partnership represents a significant advancement in how nurses will be trained.
“This will change the way FSW nursing students will be trained at Lee Health,” Wright said. “The students will work with our doctors and nurses while they are a student in clinical rotations.”
FSW students will benefit from opportunities to learn alongside practicing health care professionals, further connecting their classroom and clinical education to the realities of patient care.
“This elevates who we are,” said FSW Trustee Danny Nix. “For students to learn with this type of equipment at a college is amazing. It’s very exciting.”
The partnership comes as Southwest Florida continues to need highly trained health care professionals. FSW is the largest supplier of nursing students in the region to Lee Health, making the relationship an important connection between the education and health care systems serving the community.
The facility use agreement was approved by the FSW Board of Trustees during its Sept. 15 meeting.