Doctor’s gift helps WVU STEPS center enhance patient safety through simulation

There’s an old adage that says experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it. A recent gift to the West Virginia University David and Jo Ann Shaw Center for Simulation Training and Education for Patient Safety is helping to ensure that’s not the case for WVU students, residents and faculty.

WVU School of Medicine alumnus Dr. John C. Wright Jr. and his wife, Joanne, divided their gift across four funds, including two scholarships for medical students. But the bulk of their support will help the WV STEPS Center invest in advanced simulation technology and expert staff who create realistic training scenarios.

A planned 6,000-square-foot expansion will add immersive learning environments, enhanced clinical skills training space and greater opportunities to extend simulation-based education across West Virginia.

“Many of our simulation trainers and the units that we have are because of donations from good folks like the Wrights who understand our mission,” WV STEPS Center Director Dan Summers said. “The goal is for simulation participants to have what they need to then provide patients with safer care.”

Founded in 2009 and expanded in 2015 with a generous gift from David and Jo Ann Shaw, the WV STEPS Center prepares future dentists, physicians, pharmacists, public health officials and nurses to enter practice with greater experience and stronger clinical skills. With more than 32,000 learner visits, students, faculty and healthcare professionals use the 20,000-square-foot center annually, including its operating rooms, intensive care units, patient exam rooms and virtual reality resources.

Wright, a native of Sistersville, West Virginia, didn’t have access to those tools during his medical training at WVU in the 1970s. The physician hopes his family’s gift will inspire other alumni to support the WV STEPS Center.

“My involvement with the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association reignited my passion to support my home state and give back to my alma mater,” Wright said. “WVU prepared me for a successful career in medicine, and it’s always been in my heart to create opportunities for the next generation of healthcare providers. When I learned about the STEPS Center, it blew me away. The least I could do was contribute.”

The WV STEPS Center creates an expanded community that isn’t limited to a single school or hospital: Researchers study patient outcomes. Teachers learn how to incorporate simulation experiences into their curriculum. Students develop fundamental skills for endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery.

“Many healthcare providers from WVU Medicine and most students of the WVU Health Sciences programs have trained in the WV STEPS Center,” Summers said.

Lauren Fox, of Morgantown, is a WVU School of Nursing student leaning toward a career in cardiovascular care.

“I think participating in STEPS gives me a leg up when I enter the nursing profession because it helps me connect what I learn in the classroom with actual patient-care situations,” Fox said. “I can practice clinical judgment, communication, and hands-on skills in an environment where I can learn from mistakes while becoming more confident in caring for patients.”

The curriculum is designed to improve analytical, diagnostic, communication and crisis-level intervention skills. Summers said he witnesses growth year after year.

“We had sophomore nursing students that were put into a simulated situation where the patient coded,” Summers said. “They were out of their league. They didn’t know what to do. They were panicking. When they became senior students after training in multiple simulation scenarios and were put in that same situation, they were calm, collected, and went through the necessary steps to safely care for the patient.”

The Wright gift also supports the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association, its Clark K. Sleeth Memorial Scholars fund and the Edward J. Van Liere Medical Scholarship.

Wright attended WVU on a U.S. Air Force ROTC scholarship. He and Joanne live in Beaver, Pennsylvania, and he practices in nearby East Liverpool, Ohio, as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Over the years, the Wrights have made many generous gifts to support scholarships and the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association.

The couple’s latest gift was made through WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the university.

Visit give.wvu.edu/steps to make a gift to the WV STEPS Center.