<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/COMMUNITY-NEW-1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-23565" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/COMMUNITY-NEW-1-300x225.jpg" alt="COMMUNITY - NEW 1" width="300" height="225" /></a>As part of the educational component of the Supporting Vaginal Birth (SVB) initiative, the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative (SCBOI) brought its SimCOACH to Beaufort Memorial earlier this week, hosting training sessions for the hospital’s Birthing Center staff. The SimCOACH is the first mobile simulation laboratory in South Carolina and one of only eight in the nation.

During the training sessions, the hospital’s labor and delivery teams simulated best practices - using a “patient simulated dummy” - to reduce the risk of non-medically necessary C-sections.

The training also addressed other obstetric emergencies, including neonatal care. Beaufort Memorial pediatrician Dr. Jamie Singleton works with nurses in a simulated neonatal emergency.

The program is part of a two-year, $ 1.1 million agreement between the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) and Palmetto Health/University of South Carolina School of Medicine. The SimCOACH is scheduled to visit 45 birthing facilities throughout the state for similar training sessions.