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**This site is under revision. The Nursing Institute is currently in a restructuring phase, please watch for our Re-Launch in January of 2013**
NIWCO is Committed to The Profession of Nursing
The Nursing Institute exists to uphold, expand, and prepare nursing professionals for the rapidly-changing environment of patient care. In keeping with the Dayton region’s history as a wellspring of innovation, the Nursing Institute of West Central Ohio seeks to make this 22-county area a place where the best practices and most effective advancements in nursing care and nursing education are researched, analyzed and adopted.
Mission/Vision/Core Values
Our Mission:
To optimize regional healthcare. The Nursing Institute is a catalyst for evidence-based nursing practice, research, and education.
Our Vision:
To transform the region by creating and sustaining a nationally recognized center for nursing excellence.
Our Core Values:
- Create and maintain collaborative partnerships
- Develop and disseminate innovative practice, research, and educational interdisciplinary practices
- Establish relationships of trust
- Advocate for the profession of nursing
What we do
Robotics
The Nursing Institute pioneers research into the use of remote presence robots in health care and nursing education. The Institute’s leased robot features a wheeled base that allows it to move under the direction of a controller sitting at a remote laptop computer. A computer screen atop the unit displays the controller’s face and allows him to speak to patients and students while video and audio pick-ups allow him to see and hear. The robot allows the controller to support health examinations and to consult from a distance. The Nursing Institute has managed numerous research projects testing the robot in varied environments and has become expert in using it to extend the reach of nursing educators, care providers, chief scientists and engineers.
Simulations
Housed at the Living Laboratory is a family of high-tech patient simulators that significantly enhance nursing education and practice by bringing human-like qualities to simulated patients. Unlike conventional simulators that often are little more than mannequins, computer controlled simulators at the Living Laboratory can be made to speak and answer questions, and they feature heartbeats and other biological simulations that can be manipulated to mimic health problems.
Innovation and change
The Nursing Institute can explore the effectiveness of innovations and advise health care organizations – large and small, urban and rural – on what works and how proven advances can be integrated quickly into ongoing operations. The Nursing Institute also seeks to spread the use of best practices that protect the safety and health of nurses while those nurses provide for patient safety and quality of care.