Across the United States, various regional simulation alliances and collaboratives exist to strengthen the healthcare simulation community on a local level. By engaging with professionals, colleagues and learners with different backgrounds across the industry, simulationists can better understand the state of clinical simulation and the direction in which the field is headed. This article lists numerous healthcare simulation alliances, collaboratives, and their associated contacts. For those interested in engaging with their local simulation community, reach out to the following groups for more information on membership and simulation-based initiatives. Email us to have your U.S. state-based organization added to the list! See our other page for international healthcare simulation organizations.
Learn more about other International Healthcare Simulation Collaborative Nonprofit Organizations and HealthySimulation.com Media Partners.
Alabama:
Alabama Healthcare Simulation Alliance: The mission of the AHSA is to establish a coalition of simulation users and experts to enhance learning and increase patient safety, and to advance the science of simulation in healthcare in Alabama by increasing communication, and sharing best practices and resources.
Arizona:
Arizona Simulation Network:The Arizona Simulation Network promotes excellence in healthcare education and research. Membership includes professional networking opportunities in person and via discussion board, conversations about simulation best-practice education, and quarterly half-day educational and business meetings. The organization also offers an annual all-day conference included in the membership fee and support for members’ local organizations.
California:
Bay Area Simulation Collaborative (BASC): The Bay Area Simulation Collaborative (BASC) is comprised of representatives from schools of nursing and hospitals in the ten Bay Area counties. HealthImpact and the California Simulation Alliance (CSA) provide leadership for the BASC, which is one of seven regional simulation collaboratives in California. The BASC was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in 2006, developed as a regional demonstration model, and has been replicated in various regions of the state and around the country.
California Simulation Alliance (CSA): In 2008, HealthImpact founded the California Simulation Alliance (CSA) to network and support interdisciplinary healthcare educators in California and beyond. Increasingly, healthcare professionals are utilizing multiple types of simulation in pre-licensure schools to provide high-quality clinical experiences and in hospitals to improve patient care and teamwork. The California Simulation Alliance promotes simulation in health care to improve patient safety. This is a statewide network that serves as an information clearinghouse and umbrella for seven regional collaboratives that provide simulation education and research. The organization offers courses (which are preparatory for the Certification as Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) exam), promotes research on simulation, and serves as a resource for healthcare interprofessional faculty.
Capital Area Simulation Collaborative (CASC): The CASC is committed to providing a network of support for interprofessional simulation learning to service partners and academia in and around the greater Sacramento area. The CASC hosts mini-SUN (Simulation User Network) conferences at the Simulation Learning Center on the California State University, Sacramento, campus, in addition to biannual meetings that provide opportunities for research sharing, technical training, showcasing of new simulation equipment, and networking. Service organizations represented in the CASC include Kaiser Roseville, Kaiser South Sacramento, Mercy Hospital Folsom, Mercy General Hospital, Mercy San Juan Hospital, Methodist Hospital, Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, UC Davis Medical Center, Woodland Healthcare, and Veterans Hospital Sacramento.
Central Valley Simulation Collaborative (CVSC) : The Central Valley Simulation Collaborative (CVSC) was formed in 2009 and spans from Stanislaus to Bakersfield. The Vision: Promote the incorporation of simulation into healthcare with the intention to improve the safety and quality of patient care. The Goal: Sustain a simulation network that shares knowledge, experience, innovative ideas, and material from those who have attended conferences, workshops, and/or training. Meetings: Due to the large region that the collaborative covers, the group meets twice a year. Membership: CVSC actively promotes a multidisciplinary membership recognizing interprofessional teams that provide patient care and who train together in simulation. There are no requirements to join and no fees to pay.
Inland Empire Simulation Collaborative (IESC): The IESC was launched in the fall of 2011. There are many organizations within this area that develop and facilitate simulation-based learning activities within their programs and institutions, including hospital-based systems and educational institutions. The purpose of the IESC is to provide valuable resources to these individuals and organizations. The IESC was revitalized in November 2015 after a meeting at California Baptist University hosted by the College of Nursing. The IESC meets every three months, so if interested in becoming involved in the IESC, and or attend one of the meetings, please contact us for the current schedule.
Rural North Area Simulation Collaborative (RNASC) : The RNASC includes simulation centers located from Sacramento to the Oregon Border, and from the Sierra Nevada mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The RNASC meets twice a year in April and October. Each meeting highlights a member simulation center, provides technical training, showcases new equipment available for simulation, and includes time for networking, questions, and resource sharing. The Rural Northern California Clinical Simulation Center (Rural SimCenter) is located in Chico and hosts these meetings. The Rural SimCenter was recently accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and offers simulation educator training, including team training options, on a regular basis.
San Diego Simulation Collaborative (SDSC) : The SDSC includes hospitals and schools within the surrounding San Diego region. Meetings are hosted by the University of San Diego Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science. Attendees are representatives from both service and academia. A survey is being developed to send to all 60+ members to determine specific needs and goals.
Southern California Simulation Collaborative (SCSC) : The SCSC was developed with leadership provided by CINHC, and supported with initial funding from the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Grants Program in 2009. The SCSC built upon the learnings and success of the BASC funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and provides a regional mechanism to facilitate networking and support collaboration in the advancement of simulation practices in Los Angeles and the five surrounding county areas.
The SCSC consists of several hundred service and academic simulation enthusiasts in the greater Los Angeles area and beyond. This includes clinicians, academics, sim op specialists, and techs from the area. SCSC typically meets quarterly at different sim centers throughout the region (February, May, September, and November). SCSC members share research and best practices as well as offer support to one another. There are no dues or commitments to belong to the group other than an interest in simulation. SCSC offers several local inexpensive debriefing workshops with funding from the Health Workforce Initiative.
View the LEARN CE/CME Platform Webinar Building and Sustaining a Statewide Simulation Collaborative to learn more!
Colorado:
Colorado Simulation Collaborative: The Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence has convened a simulation collaborative for individuals using simulation to educate and enhance the education of nurses and nursing students working in education and service settings. The group’s mission is to bring those working in simulation together to share resources and enhance the quality and prevalence of simulation in health care throughout Colorado.
Florida:
Florida Healthcare Simulation Alliance: Florida Healthcare Simulation Alliance is a network of over 600 academic and institutional professionals dedicated to improving Simulation in Healthcare through standardizing patient safety and outcomes with evidence-based best practices and guidelines within the beautiful sunshine state of Florida. Florida Healthcare Simulation Alliance became a Society for Simulation in Healthcare Affinity Group (FHSA-AG). FHSA-AG’s objective is to promote quality healthcare simulation practices for academic and clinical environments, in an effort to improve patient safety and patient outcomes, across the state of Florida. FHSA-AG will serve as a regional resource to facilitate collaboration, networking, development, and integration of best practices for the delivery of simulation-based healthcare education, and will strive to support fledging simulation programs through direct mentorship and strengthen existing simulation programs through collaboration and shared best practices.
Hawaii:
Hawaii State Simulation Collaborative: Clinical simulation is an integral part of nursing education for students and the incumbent workforce. With the COVID-19 pandemic came a decrease in available clinical placements, an increase in distance learning, and the need for simulation education. In 2020, the Center partnered with simulation education leaders at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and The Queen’s Medical Center to discuss restarting the Hawaiʻi State Simulation Collaborative. The Collaborative was officially reconvened as an initiative of the Center in 2021. The Collaborative focuses on the dissemination of clinical simulation education strategies and resources.
Illinois:
Chicagoland Nursing Simulation Interest Group (CNSIG): Chicagoland Nursing Simulation Interest Group (CNSIG) is a dedicated group of area simulation experts who come together to network and share ideas. The mission of CNSIG is to support excellence in nursing education through the collaboration of simulation. Search FaceBook to learn more about CNSIG.
Indiana:
Southeastern Indiana Simulation Network: The Southeastern Indiana Simulation Consortium is a partnership between academic and clinical sites that use simulation to train health care professionals. The group works together to improve regional simulation capacity, research simulation best practices, bridge the academic-clinical gap and ultimately improve patient care in the region. East Indiana AHEC coordinates the Consortium to foster collaboration, community partnerships, and research projects at simulation sites.
Kentucky:
Kentucky Simulation Alliance: The Kentucky Simulation Alliance (KSA) held its first meeting in January 2016 with a small group of individuals who wanted to share best practices for simulation in and around the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As the alliance grew in numbers, the members decided they would like the KSA to become a formal group with the intent of growing membership and reaching more individuals who are engaged in simulation.
Maryland:
Maryland Clinical Simulation Resource Consortium (MCSRC): The MCSRC is a new statewide funding initiative authorized under the auspices of the Nurse Support Program II (NSP II) and jointly approved by the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) and Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). This program is designed to increase the quality and quantity of simulation used in nursing education. School of Nursing Deans and Directors and Hospital Chief Nursing Officers and Nurse Executives are encouraged to nominate nursing candidates, who are interested in serving as simulation leaders, for funding consideration. The program promotes the use of simulation in nursing education in Maryland, establishes simulation quality guidelines that promote patient safety, and provides resources to maintain simulation equipment for nursing programs.
Minnesota:
Minnesota Simulation for Healthcare Education Partnerships (MnSHEP): MnSHEP is a partnership between university, college, and industry educators that promotes simulation excellence by providing evidence-based resources and support for educators. Supported by HealthForce Minnesota, the website includes a library of simulation scenarios, current news, webinars, and other resources. The mission of the Minnesota Simulation for Healthcare Education Partnerships (MnSHEP) is to promote simulation excellence by providing evidence-based resources and support for educators. MnSHEP fosters academic/practice partnerships to promote research and provide collaborative learning opportunities in simulation.
Missouri:
Kansas City Regional Simulation Alliance (KCRSA): The Kansas City Regional Simulation Alliance (KCRSA) is a non‐profit, membership‐supported alliance representing all educational and training disciplines in the Kansas City region that serves to increase each member’s mastery of immersive, participatory, and experiential educational and training techniques in healthcare. KCRSA seeks to leverage the simulation learning community to accomplish together what cannot be done alone. Members will work together to foster growth in simulation education by connecting people and facilities, sharing best practices, and preparing simulation educators and simulation technologists.
North Carolina:
North Caroline Nursing Association Simulation Council: The NCNA Board of Directors approved the formation of the Simulation Council in October 2009 in response to the great interest of members regarding simulation learning modalities, including Human Patient Simulators (HPS), task trainers, virtual reality, serious games, and standardized patients. The NCNA Sim Council provides networking opportunities for simulation education professionals from academic and practice settings across the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina Nurses Association Simulation Council exists to advance simulation-based education to improve patient outcomes by fostering safe, culturally sensitive, competent patient care across diverse populations. The Council’s primary goal is to promote networking that supports the standards of best practice in simulation to develop sound clinical judgment for nursing practice.
Oklahoma:
Oklahoma Alliance for Healthcare Simulation: The Oklahoma Alliance for Healthcare Simulation is dedicated to improving the quality and safety of patient care in Oklahoma by facilitating, coordinating, and expanding the use of healthcare simulation.
Oregon:
Oregon Simulation Alliance (OSA): OSA is the unique statewide effort in Oregon to implement multidisciplinary/multisector simulation education in schools, health systems, and community training centers. The Oregon Simulation Alliance (OSA) is a group of individuals with a common purpose: simulation education. The group included representatives from the Governor’s Office, organization vice presidents, university and community college deans, public health officials, Area Healthcare Education Centers (AHEC) officials, and simulation experts. Simultaneously, the Governor of Oregon created a statewide Healthcare Workforce Initiative that included the establishment of a network of simulation centers.
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia:
Simulation Alliance of Pennsylvania, Ohio, & West Virginia (SimPOW): SimPOW is an alliance of healthcare simulation professionals in the tri-state area (western Pennsylvania, northwestern West Virginia, and eastern Ohio).
South Carolina:
South Carolina Nursing Education Simulation Alliance: The Mission of the South Carolina Nursing Education Simulation Alliance (SCNESA) is to promote and share the use of evidence-based practices in simulation that will expand the science of simulation in nursing education with measurable outcomes. The Vision of the SCNESA is to create and maintain an alliance that will improve, facilitate collaboration, and expand the use of simulation in nursing education programs throughout this state.
Tennessee:
Tennessee Simulation Alliance: The Tennessee Simulation Alliance began after the first statewide Simulation Conference was held in 2008 with grant funding from a national collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation which focused on establishing a stable, adequate nursing workforce. Participants and organizers of the Simulation Conference decided to create the Tennessee Simulation Alliance (TNSA) as a means to provide Tennessee nurse educators with a central location for communication, collaboration, and sharing.
Texas:
Simulation Professionals of Texas (SPOT): In 2014, a group of dedicated simulation champions came together to create the Simulation Professionals Of Texas (SPOT) to offer collaboration amongst simulation facilities and personnel in the state. Each quarterly event is sponsored by a different vendor. The group exists to carry forward the implementation of simulation teaching and training methodology in health care education within the state of Texas.
Utah:
Utah Simulation Coalition: The Utah Simulation Coalition (USC) is an inter-professional simulation resource community whose mission is to promote safe, knowledgeable, and effective patient care by demonstrating and reinforcing the highest level of simulation performance in operations, technical support, education, and practice.
Virginia:
Virginia Simulation Alliance: A union to promote common interests for the use of simulation in healthcare education that is achieved through regional and state-wide collaboration! To facilitate networking/collaboration, provide mentorship, promote professional development, improve utilization of simulation as a teaching methodology, and to facilitate simulation research. To provide a sustainable simulation network for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Washington:
Pacific Northwest Healthcare Simulation Collaborative (PNWHSC): PNWHSC provides a forum for members to discuss simulation, and share evidence-based best practices for simulation learning experiences as well as individual expertise, techniques, tools, and resources in simulation training. PNWHSC members are educators, practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders from schools of nursing and medicine, hospitals and the industry. The Collaborative strives to integrate and expand simulation training, methodology, and technology in healthcare education to enhance the competency and confidence of healthcare providers. The ultimate purpose of the Collaborative is to improve patient safety and save lives in the communities served. PNWHSC is a 501C3 not-for-profit in the state of Washington.
International:
Healthcare Distance Simulation Collaborative: The Healthcare Distance Simulation Collaborative’s mission is to sustain and innovate healthcare distance simulation. The vision is the adept harnessing of healthcare distance simulation will free health professions educators of the limitations and challenges in education today and enable continuous learning for all health professions. There are several projects through this collaborative: taxonomy, annual summit, scoping review, pictogram, SSH 2023 Research Summit (distance, hybrid, and umbrella review), survey, assessment and evaluation, human factors, faculty development, and psychological safety.
