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ST. PETERSBURG – "Vicky Hopkins" is 37 weeks pregnant and sits on a bed at Johns Hopkin's All Children's Hospital. Four obstetricians surround him while moaning.
"My back is killing me," she complains, but she keeps pushing.
Soon, the round shape of a baby's head appears, crowned with blood. The rest of his body emerges with a greyish umbilical cord, cleared by one of the doctors in dark blue scrubs.
The baby does not move and makes no noise, so the obstetricians rush her to the other side of the room. A stethoscope is gently pressed on his skin.
"The color is getting better, the heart rate is improving, let's see if she starts crying," says Dr. Jennifer Arnold. At the right time, the baby starts to complain.
The mother and the child are fine, except that none of them actually breathes. These are medical models in the pediatric simulation center unveiled Thursday at the opening of the hospital's new research and education building.
The $ 95 million facility – which will accommodate 300 to 400 doctors, nurses, faculty members and support staff – has been in preparation since at least 2012. A site that once served as a parking lot now houses what the city has to offer. The hospital says of Florida's largest pediatric simulation center, with 40,000 square feet of research and laboratory space and a "biorepository" that can store up to 3 million samples of specimens. 39 biological samples, such as blood, urine and tissues.
More than 400 people, including hospital board members, local officials and major donors, gathered on Thursday morning in the shadows of the seven-storey building for tours and a ribbon cutting.
"We believe we can begin to find new ways to cure pediatric diseases by bringing together scientists and clinicians," said Dr. Jonathan Ellen, CEO of the hospital. "Clinicians will ask questions, scientists will be able to give them the answers, which will be reported to patients, and this cycle will continue until we cure certain diseases."
With the new technology, healthcare professionals can repeat high-risk situations in realistic conditions, said Arnold, director of the simulation center. This includes risky situations such as giving birth to Vicky Hopkins, complicated by her gestational diabetes.
"(The models) get blue, they cry, they move, they can sneeze – they do a lot of things that a real patient would do," Arnold said.
This is how people from other stressful industries, such as aviation or nuclear, said.
The interior of the building is bright, light and airy, with conference rooms, other learning spaces and room for the program, said Dr. Akshata Hopkins, head of the hospital's medical training office .
The bioreactive uses a robotic system to manage and store millions of biological samples essential for clinical studies, said Dr. Neil Goldenberg, director of research at the hospital. Researchers can use the samples to discover new blood markers and determine how current treatments affect children differently.
In addition to medical facilities, the new building is also home to the Peabody Restaurant, inspired by a Johns Hopkins University Library in Baltimore. The restaurant is run by the family behind the Oxford Exchange, a Tampa favorite.
The impact on the local community and the region is enormous, bringing highly skilled jobs to the region, said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
"Clearly, the ability to attract the best talent to come here and train here and bring that intelligence into our community is a big problem," Kriseman said. "The doctors and clinicians who will be trained mean that the residents of our community will receive the best care."
Alyssa Luciano and her 4-year-old daughter, Ava, who was treated at All Children for Leukemia, cut the ribbon during the grand opening.
Luciano said there were bumps on the road in treating his daughter – especially with the necessary medications. Ava was allergic to some and there were shortages of other people.
The hospital's investment in the new facilities will help, said Luciano. "It's very special for us to see the progress made right here in our backyard."
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