Healthy home

Wright State University nursing students learn critical skills needed to care for patients at home during a unique hands-on lab experience.

The Simulating Homecare Aging in place Research Education lab (S.H.A.R.E. House) features nine state-of-the-art nursing labs outfitted with medical simulators that mimic patient scenarios such as childbirth, hospice home health care and even detailed home assessments.

The S.H.A.R.E. House is located at the John Tate House, a historic two-story home built in 1825, on the campus of St. Leonard’s Health Care Center in Centerville.

The fully furnished lab is populated with a family of nine mannequins arranged around the house in various scenarios, allowing nursing students to assess the patients, their homes and how their living conditions will affect their illness.

“A lot of us learn best with a hands-on approach so this is a way to be in a relaxed environment, and, because it’s a mannequin, you can make some mistakes,” said Olivia Guetle, a senior nursing major who participated in the unique lab experience.

The home is organized to train students to locate hazards such as a mannequin that is receiving oxygen and has apparently been smoking tobacco, tripping hazards on a staircase, and dangerous prescription drugs near mannequins with elevated heart rates.

“We have students in community health and they’re experiencing what family dynamics look like,” said Stephanie Savage, adjunct faculty in nursing.

Robby Pangallo, a senior nursing major, said the lab allows him to think on his feet and decide which community organizations should be contacted to assist the mannequin family’s needs.

“It gives you the opportunity to practice communications skills,” said Pangallo.

The lab is also set up so nursing students can experience the illnesses the patients are experiencing while trying to complete tasks around the house, such as cooking a meal without using their legs or trying to complete paperwork with glaucoma.

“We are using all of the skills we’ve learned, critically think and put everything together,” said Pangallo.