Rosalind Franklin opens virtual hospital training facility: ‘We prepare for any possible emergency’, tell me about this news in (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/18/rosalind-franklin-university-simulator/)
19-09-2026
The report details the opening of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science’s (RFU) new Virtual Health System (VHS), a state-of-the-art simulated hospital facility located on its North Chicago campus.
The facility is designed to immerse medical, nursing, and health sciences students in real-world clinical environments so they can train for critical medical situations and emergencies without risk to real patients.
Key details of the news and the facility include:
Full Continuum of Care: The facility replicates an entire working hospital floor. It features a reception area, an Emergency Department with treatment rooms and a trauma bay, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), surgical and procedural suites, a labor and delivery room, and an outpatient clinic with multiple exam rooms.
Emergency & Crisis Preparedness: The center is built around the idea of preparing providers for “any possible emergency.” High-fidelity robotic patient manikins, specialized simulation staff, and realistic medical equipment allow teams to handle code events, complex trauma, severe surgical complications, and obstetric emergencies in high-pressure scenarios.
Immersive 360° Studio: A flexible simulation space equipped with a 360-degree interactive video wall can project dynamic environments outside traditional hospital rooms, including the back of an ambulance, a patient’s home, or an outdoor mass-casualty/disaster scene.
Empathy Lab: Through adaptive gear and virtual reality, the Dr. Scholl Foundation Empathy Lab lets students directly experience the physical and sensory limitations faced by patients suffering from conditions such as stroke, visual impairments, or Alzheimer’s disease.
Healthcare Makerspace & AI Integration: The facility includes dedicated spaces for 3D printing, prototyping anatomical training models, and testing emerging digital health and artificial intelligence tools developed with regional technology and academic partners.
Focus on Interprofessional Teamwork and Leadership: In typical clinical rotations, trainees generally follow attending physicians. In this virtual hospital, students step into primary leadership roles, directing multidisciplinary teams and practicing decision-making, communication, and error prevention before entering actual clinical practice.