NEOAHEC owns two high-fidelity manikins—one pediatric and one adult—and Senator Merkley's office has announced their plan to invest in Oregon's families and rural communities, including funding NEOAHEC’s purchase of an advanced maternal and neonatal simulation system. With this expanded collection of manikins and the addition of a Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist to the team, the project aims to bolster maternal health training that is tailored to meet the needs in eastern Oregon.
Merkley, along with Senator Ron Wyden, secured 20 Oregon community-initiated projects in the Senate’s draft FY25 LHHS funding bill to expand affordable health care and mental health resources, as well as increase childcare, early education, and career and technical training options throughout the state...[including] $163,000 for the Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center (NEOAHEC) to purchase an Advanced Maternal and Neonatal Simulation System. Much of Eastern Oregon lacks access to this critical equipment, and the region faces many challenges when it comes to providing care for expecting mothers. This project will allow NEOAHEC to deploy obstetric and maternal health training which needed to keep health care professionals in a practice ready in rural Eastern Oregon.