Published on August 20, 2010

St. Ambrose Health Sciences Education Center opens to students on Genesis West campus

Classes are underway at St. Ambrose University’s newly constructed Center for Health Sciences Education, located on the West Central Park Campus of Genesis Medical Center, Davenport.

The $11.5 million building unites the university’s health sciences programs under one roof and houses the physical therapy, occupational therapy and nursing departments.

The center offers classrooms and state-of-the-art laboratories replicating health care settings, including a multi-bed hospital ward, an apartment so therapists can practice teaching daily living skills, and gyms with physical therapy equipment. Nursing students can work with patient simulators, or high-tech mannequins that let them practice treating the health ailments of human patients.  They can take a pulse, read
blood pressures and check for breathing and bowel sounds, for example.

The facility is a cooperative effort of St. Ambrose and Genesis Health System, which donated the land at Marquette and Lombard streets, as well as a major contribution from the Genesis Health Services Foundation.

A building dedication is planned for Aug. 26.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who secured $1.6 million in funds for the center, recently toured the new building with Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center is important to meeting future health care needs. “We have a shortage of health care professionals in this country, and we’re going to have a bigger shortage in the future,” Harkin said.

Local health issues
Dr. Freiden made his first visit to Iowa to discuss important public health topics with state and Scott County health officials.  At a news conference, Dr. Freiden complimented Iowa’s smoke-free tobacco legislation and high health care worker vaccination rate against seasonal and H1N1 flu. Flu immunization will remain an important health care issue this fall, he said.

On the local front, the Genesis Flu-Free Quad Cities initiative plans again to vaccinate area school students to help create an umbrella of flu protection for the community. Last year, more than 9,400 Quad City students in 81 schools received free flu vaccinations through the Flu-Free Campaign.

Dr. Frieden, however, warned that the state and county must work harder to combat childhood obesity and made a pitch for First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative. This spring, the city of Davenport, in cooperation with Genesis and other supporters, kicked off its own “Let’s Move” campaign to get kids and their families moving.

In other local anti-obesity efforts, the Genesis Heart Institute recently launched a campaign asking restaurants to voluntarily pledge to make their menu choices trans fat free.

Those restaurants will receive a sticker for their entry door and be listed on the Genesis Heart Institute website at www.genesishealth.com/ghi.

Dr. Frieden led the New York City Health Department when that city become the first in the U.S. to mandate the elimination of trans fats from foods served at restaurants.