LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bellarmine University is getting a major piece of federal funding to expand its “Health Simulation Lab,” giving the Louisville school better tools to train future medical professionals. 

It’s about as close to the real thing as you can get. Before students, who are enrolled in Bellarmine’s Accelerated Nursing Program interact with actual flesh and blood, they’re immersed in the school’s simulation lab.

“You can actually inject the mannequin with fluid,” Student Mike Danieli said. “Very interactive with us, with the mannequins and the instructors have also been great about guiding us through.”

Bellarmine nursing students tend to their lifelike mannequin of a patient. (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)

Danieli hopes to become a nurse practitioner. He believes his recent experience in the Navy prepared him well for the workload in this sped up nursing program.

“Definitely in the military — it definitely mimics that, the way they throw you into it,” Danieli said.

The mannequins in this lab are interactive. They have real vitals and can take in fluids — even the birthing mannequin has fake blood.

“So if you look right here, you can see it bounding,” Shalisa Sanuntoong said. Sanuntoong is another student in the program and expects to graduate this December. “If we didn’t have simulation lab, I wouldn’t be as confident going into a real patient’s room and assessing them the way I am supposed to.”

The lab is adding even more equipment thanks to a $1 million federal earmark put in motion by outgoing U.S. Representative John Yarmuth. 

The simulation lab is also expanding its reach into JCPS to inspire an even younger generation to pursue careers in the medical field.