A new UT Arlington initiative will bring emergency medical training opportunities to rural Texas communities where health care access is limited.
The UTA Mobile Simulation Lab allows the university to bring high-tech training equipment to Texas’ 100-plus rural counties.
Jill Whitfill, a UTA nursing professor, said the lab also allows UTA to keep health care workers in their communities — the vast majority of which lie in areas with primary care and mental health care shortages.
“If we have everybody migrate up here to the Metroplex, we leave our rural communities without the health care that they need,” Whitfill said. “Our goal is to work with high schools, emergency medical services, all of the health care workforce out in the rural areas.”
In one part of the UTA Mobile Simulation Lab, a high-tech mannequin sits in a trauma bay-like area with a compound femur fracture and traumatic brain injury.
On the other side of the vehicle, another mannequin is in labor. Displays in both rooms display vital sign information and hold mock crash carts. The mannequins can display a range of signs, symptoms, complications and emotions.
Both can blink, cry, groan, speak and exhibit various complications. Their pupils can also dilate to emulate symptoms of neurological issues.
Whitfill said the mannequin that simulates labor offers vital training in regions with limited access to obstetric care. Nearly 60% of rural Texas hospitals do not offer labor and delivery services, according to a February report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
“We have mothers taking their deliveries miles away from where they live,” Whitfill said. “They may be one or two hours away from a place to give birth.”
Staff and faculty at UTA will work with health care providers and community groups to determine and refine training needs.
“We have a catalog of scenarios,” Whitfill said. “However, every rural community has their own set of things that they find to be important.”
The lab’s first stop will be Faith Community Hospital in Jacksboro, Whitfill said.
Haley Stuteville, a community-based education coordinator with the Texas Rural Health Association, said the mobile unit will close the gap in training opportunities for people in rural communities.
“The overall Texas rural health care system is in crisis in so many ways, and we need to invest in practical community-connected solutions,” she said. “This mobile training lab not only strengthens the workforce, but it also sends a message to rural providers that they’re seen.”
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org
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