Model Health care

McGregor Memorial EMS, which serves UNH and neighboring communities, also uses the HSSC for training. Here, McGregor paramedic Robert Cousins and volunteer EMTs William Conk and Mia Philbrook ‘27 deliver “Mama Ann’s” baby.

In a building on a corner of campus, a nursing student sutures a wound. Nearby, a new mother named Ann delivers a baby; in the lobby, first responders administer Narcan to an elderly patient who overdosed on a beta blocker as a social worker consults.

But not for real.

Welcome to UNH’s Health Sciences Simulation Center (HSSC), a 20,000-square-foot facility that’s home to hospital rooms, sophisticated equipment and monitors, and 12 remarkably lifelike manikins that grant future — and current — health care workers with hands-on learning with (almost) real-world patients.

The HSSC’s advanced training is helping address New Hampshire’s shortage of healthcare professionals: For nursing students, simulation reduces the need for clinical hours by 50%, easing a critical bottleneck in the pipeline of nursing professionals UNH can prepare.