Quinnipiac University hosted a tour of Hartford Hospital’s Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI) on Tuesday, April 5 to teach incoming first-year students about the collaboration between the university and Hartford Healthcare.

Visitors toured the CESI and were able to utilize the various simulations available at Hartford Hospital that are also accessible to Quinnipiac students of all areas of study. Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett also attended the event and is optimistic about the partnership.

“Tonight was an opportunity for accepted students to learn a little bit about the value add of the partnership and how they could leverage that as a student here, so we wanted to open it up to accepted students,” Ellett said. “We’ve already started the process for current students but we also wanted new students, future students to see that.”

Ellett hopes that the technology available at Hartford Hospital can be used by students in all areas of study in a variety of ways. There will be events specifically for certain students and organizations, and Ellett himself plans to bring more students to use the CESI.

“The CESI is going to be accessible to all students… for instance, they have ‘disaster day’ coming up here in a few weeks. We have students from our EMS group who are going to be here, we also have students… who are going to be able to report from it. We are trying to get communications students, students from the health sciences, that’s one example,” Ellett said.

The partnership is expected to benefit Quinnipiac and Hartford Healthcare alike. CESI’s Director of Operations Stephen Donahue is also optimistic about both institutions’ futures.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity of Hartford Healthcare partnering with Quinnipiac University,” Donahue said. “I think it’s two great institutions that are coming together with the same common goal which is to get the next generation of healthcare providers into our workforce, so I think it’s a wonderful partnership.”

As for health sciences students, the facilities at Hartford Hospital are an extension of those available at the North Haven campus.

“CESI is a wonderful opportunity for students to get exposure to other equipment that they might not have on the North Haven campus,” Donahue said. “This gives them another layer of opportunities to get more involved in more of the medical technology, different technology that they may not have, but also get to work with some practicing people in healthcare.”

Beyond the CESI, the partnership with Hartford Healthcare will also provide Quinnipiac students with a wide array of opportunities, such as more advanced medical care on campus, priority in the hiring process, research opportunities, and medical equipment training.

“Students will be guaranteed priority hiring for all jobs in health-related fields, in the law school, business, communications, engineering, so that’s a huge win and one of the few things that I think will really make a difference for our students,” Ellett said.

Ellett explained that there are currently numerous groups working through the provost’s office with Hartford Healthcare staff that are developing ideas for how the partnership can become more prevalent on campus through each school as well as provide career opportunities for students.

“Over 23 working groups are working right now to be able to look at what kinds of programs we should be creating in the health sciences and health-related fields which will be co-branded with Hartford Healthcare,” Ellett said.

The partnership also provides the opportunity for a closer relationship between Hartford Healthcare employees and Quinnipiac students who could work there in the future.

“In return, Hartford Healthcare will have access to working with our medical school, our nursing and health sciences where some of their staff can be faculty members and bring in real life issues that are happening into the classroom as well, and get to know the students who will hopefully be applying to work at Hartford Healthcare,” Ellett said.

Through Hartford Healthcare, students will also gain unique experience using medical software and have the opportunity to attend guest speaker events. Students in the EMS program are working proactively to use the CESI. A summer program for additional learning and certifications could even be implemented in the future.

“[There are] lots of ways to think about what is missing from Quinnipiac and how can we augment it with the partnership with Hartford Healthcare,” Ellett said.

Ellett and the university encourage students to take advantage of the partnership and opportunities that can be accessed through Hartford Healthcare.

“I think the more that students can participate in dreaming about what would be helpful for their career in the health sciences or related fields, I think that’s really where we want to co-create in what’s possible for this partnership,” Ellett said.

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