Charles A. Andersen Simulation Center
Directions
From Exit 122
Jackson-Left on Filmore - Right on Perry - Right on S ‘L’ Street- Follow Curve to Left Down McKinley - Right into the parking lot directly in front of Bldg 9925B Ramp 3
From Exit 123
Follow Thorne Lane Through Logistics Gate - Left on Rainier -Right on Lincoln - Right McKinley -Left into the parking lot that leads into BLDG 9925B Ramp 3
From McChord
Follow Lincoln Street Through Lincoln Gate (Corner of Lincoln and Rainier) -Right on McKinley- Left into the parking lot that leads into BLDG 9925B Ramp 3
About
The mission of the Charles A. Andersen Simulation Center is to support Continuing Medical Education and Graduate Medical Education (CME/GME), Nursing and Operational Medic simulation training at Madigan Army Medical Center. We prepare these Healthcare Professionals and Soldiers to provide the best medical treatment possible. We strive to improve patient safety, practitioner efficiency and competency in the clinic, hospital, and operational environment. Our primary goal is to bring together Healthcare Professionals and Soldiers in realistic environments where skills, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking are taught, practiced and improved to optimize patient outcomes.
The Charles A. Andersen Simulation Center was the first in the Department of Defense to be accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a Level I Educational Institution in 2007, and is one of only approximately 50 simulation centers in the world to have received this honor. The Charles A. Andersen Simulation Center was granted full accreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare in 2010 in all available areas (Assessment, Research, Teaching/Education, and Systems Integration).
The Charles A. Andersen Simulation Center is also working with several national specialty organizations in the field of simulation. It was recently selected by the American Urologic Association as one of only six sites in the United States to be a test site for a new laparoscopic nephrectomy simulator. In addition, the Charles A. Andersen Simulation Center was also accepted as an official member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s Simulation Consortium in October 2009.
In 2010, the Andersen Simulation Center received full accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.
A capstone field training exercise each spring brings units from across the base to include Special Forces, Air Force and Guard partners to take graduating residents through a combat scenario that is unique in the Army and as close to the battlefield as trainees can get.
The ASC’s initial footprint was the old Madigan operating room site, consisting of 1,100 square feet and minimal personnel. Over the last 18 years, the need for simulation to facilitate graduate medical education, military medical provider readiness for deployed settings, as well as patient safety initiatives in support of a high reliability organization have all increased demand. On August 28, 2020, during a renovation ribbon-cutting ceremony, it was announce that ACS now will encompass three separate facilities that span over 24,000 square feet within the Madigan Army Medical Center complex
The only Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons-certified testing site in the state of Washington
The ASC has the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic and Fundamentals of Endoscopic surgical training equipment, as Madigan is the only Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons-certified testing site in the state of Washington to ensure general surgeons and obstetrics/gynecologists are able to complete required testing to ensure the residents are board-eligible on graduation.
The Andersen Simulation Center has extended Madigan’s outreach to the Pacific Northwest region, facilitating training with the Tacoma Trauma Trust, enhancing inter-agency disaster preparedness, and improving communication among governmental and civilian partners alike.