Ridgewater plans open house this week for mobile simulation lab
WILLMAR -- Ridgewater College will hold open houses this week to show off its new mobile simulation training facility.
In Willmar, the open house will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday. The vehicle will be parked in the main visitor parking lot in front of student services building. A similar open house will be held Wednesday at Ridgewater's Hutchinson campus.
SimLab L1 is a high-tech mobile training facility to be used to provide simulation-based training for health care and emergency response workers. Ridgewater is a leader in using simulations in its nursing programs.
Training with SimLab will be delivered through Ridgewater's Customized Training and Continuing Education division.
The goal of SimLab is to take training opportunities to the people seeking training. To get the same level of training before SimLab, area organizations often had to send employees to the metropolitan area. Having the mobile lab come to them should save them money.
The Ridgewater College Foundation raised the money for the lab. The vehicle itself was delivered about six months ago, but the college has kept it under wraps while technology equipment was being installed.
In addition to healthcare training, SimLab can be used to bioterrorism preparation and workplace safety training, as well as a career interest tool for K-12 students interested in healthcare, science and technology.
