Found on the ground floor of the HITS Sim lab, the Smart Home models a fully equipped one-bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment making this space beneficial in both nursing simulation education and HITS research.
With an increasing older population, nursing students need not only the skills and knowledge to assist patients in a clinical setting, but within a home setting as well. Using a simulated or standardized patient, or a human simulator manikin, faculty can develop in-home care scenarios for nursing students to understand and empathize with the desire for older generations to live independently at home for as long as possible, in addition to practicing appropriate care giving skills.
In addition to the Smart Home being used for simulated experiences, it also provides testing space to trial new technologies for maintaining an appropriate and acceptable quality of life while aging in place. The rise of accessible internet, via sensors and technology devices that can monitor and provide important data, is one of the fastest growing technological sectors and will be incorporated into future nursing care in addition to technology and innovative design creation.
The Smart Home is also used as an innovation “think tank” meeting space, a place for brainstorming, knowledge dissemination, and presenting creative solutions for healthcare related problems.
