Temple Women & Families is preparing for the opening of its new hospital by conducting a series of clinical simulations. These exercises are designed to improve responses to various medical situations, according to John Kissko III, MD, Anesthesia Site Chief and Director of the High Risk Obstetric Anesthesia Clinic at Temple Women & Families.
“The simulations deal with everything from OB emergencies to code scenarios to surgical events,” Dr. Kissko stated. The preparation includes planning for intrapartum emergencies like shoulder dystocia during delivery and scenarios such as precipitous deliveries in stabilization areas. Additionally, they have rehearsed activating surgical specialty backup from TUH-Main Campus if needed during procedures at Temple Women & Families. “We’ve even prepared for events like a support person passing out during an epidural placement,” he added.
The aim is to practice protocols until they become second nature on the new campus. “Holding all these dry runs means everyone will know what they’re doing inside and out by the time we have our first patient,” Dr. Kissko explained.
To develop these simulations, Dr. Kissko’s team initially created a list of important situations to address. They then consulted leaders from various clinical groups such as Maternal/Fetal Medicine, OB/GYN, Neonatology, Nursing, Radiology, Neurology, and Emergency Medicine for their input.
After refining the list based on feedback, tabletop exercises were conducted where leaders and clinicians discussed how they would handle each situation. When it was time for live simulations at Temple Women & Families, all relevant team members participated. “That means OB residents and Labor & Delivery nurses and Neonatology nurses, and also supportive services like the Blood Bank, Respiratory Therapy, and Security,” said Dr. Kissko.
Dr. Kissko emphasized that ongoing practice is crucial: “We’re going to keep running the simulations… We want to do continuous reassessments to ensure what we’re doing is the most efficient use of resources and what’s best for our teams—and, most importantly, what’s best for our patients.”
The ultimate goal is to provide safe and high-quality care from day one of operation. “We want our patients to know that we’re prepared for these situations, and for anything they might need,” Dr. Kissko concluded.
