The University of the Virgin Islands announced Wednesday that its Medical Simulation Center has been officially recognized as an emergency medical technician training center by the V.I. Health Department’s Emergency Medical Services Office. The designation follows the successful completion of the center’s inaugural EMT training course.
The center, located on St. Croix’s Albert A. Sheen Campus, boasts a range of training rooms and classrooms as well as surgical virtual reality simulators, in- and outpatient rooms, an operating room and a surgical skills lab. The center’s executive director, Charlene Navarro, said the center plans to establish a basic emergency medical services curriculum for the territory’s public high school students, according to a UVI press release.
The center may also be included on the V.I. Workforce Development Board’s Eligible Training Provider List, which would free up additional resources to train Virgin Islanders under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
“We are delighted to be recognized as an EMT Training Center and eagerly anticipate collaborating closely with the State Office of Emergency Medical Services to further our mission of delivering exceptional medical training and education,” she said.
State EMS Office Medical Director Dr. Marc Jerome congratulated the Medical Simulation Center and emphasized the need for skilled emergency medical technicians in the U.S. Virgin Islands. UVI President Safiya George also praised the recognition.
“This approval is a result of the university’s ongoing investment in delivering world-class health care education for our students,” she said. “It also ensures that our students and community members have access to the highest standard of emergency medical training right here in the Virgin Islands.”
More information about the Medical Simulation Center can be found here.
