Ms. Rothkopf Heilbrunn graduated from the university in 1932. She and her husband, investor Robert Heilbrunn, went on to become notable philanthropists. Their daughters Helaine Lerner and Joan Rechnitz have continued their philanthropy with major investments in student scholarships, as well as the renewal of the School of Nursing.

The cutting-edge facility in Downtown Brooklyn represents a sea change in healthcare training, and will have a “transformative effect on generations of LIU students,” said Eric Krasnoff, chairman of the board of trustees of LIU. The students will focus on patient-centered care.

LIU President Dr. Kimberly Cline said the Heilbrunn family’s generosity has enabled LIU to reaffirm its status as a leader in nursing education. In addition to its physical transformation, the Heilbrinn’s support will expand programs and provide scholarships for promising students.

“Joan and I are delighted to be able to build a nursing school for our mother,” said Helaine Lerner. “She would have been so pleased and proud, because LIU was such an important part of her life.” Lerner recalled that her mother attended her 75th reunion at LIU. “She depended on her caregivers at home, and spoke of her appreciation of nursing from a whole new personal perspective.”

Dr. Judith Erickson, dean of the nursing school, said that LIU is known for its emphasis on experiential learning as well as academic excellence. The school educates roughly 600 nursing students a year, including those on the graduate level.

‘He cried!’

Mock treatment rooms and intensive care, pediatrics and emergency units recreate the hospital environment on the fourth and fifth floor of the William Zeckendorf Health Sciences Center.

Computerized mannequins, ranging in age from infant to adult, lay in hospital beds – but not like dummies.

“He cried!” one nursing student said as she adjusted an IV in a child-age mannequin. The student spoke to her “patient,” asking him how he felt and patting his hand.

“I’m going to listen to your chest again,” she said.

Microphones and video cameras hang from the ceiling. Behind mirrored glass in a monitoring center next door, a professor adjusted the patient’s heart rate and other vital signs.

The wrong decisions by a student can make the situation go south fast – but that’s exactly the point, said Dr. May Dobal, associate professor at LIU.

“They get nervous. It’s real to them,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle. “I make him moan and they say, ‘Oh, the baby’s crying!’ You want them to respond to him as a person, not just as a mannequin.”

As students worked on the young patient, Dr. Dobal made adjustments via the computer system. “The treatment has improved his respiratory rate, and his oxygen level has increased,” she said.

Dr. Hazel Sanderson, associate dean of the nursing school, told the Eagle, “Because we have these fantastic, human-like simulators, students can learn and can practice safely. If something happens, we can always stop and look at what went right and what went wrong.”

Dr. Sanderson said the instructor can change the scenario “if the student becomes too comfortable. We can bring in a relative — that’s where the psychosocial needs come in. A parent comes in and says, ‘What are you doing to my child?’ It really makes it as life-like as possible, but in a simulated environment.”

The school also includes a home setting outfitted with a modern kitchen, living area, bedroom and bathroom. (Some visitors said it was nicer than their own apartments.)

“At home, you have a lot of complex patients. I see a lot of kids in their homes,” said Dr. Kathleen Cervasio, a tenured professor and the new chair of the nursing school. “The sickest patients aren’t in the hospitals.”

The home setting can be used by not only nurses but by physical and occupational therapy, speech and language pathology students.

Live actors in the primary care area

Three exam rooms, connected to a central control room, simulate the primary care environment.

“We use actors,” said Kelynne Edmond, director of Clinical Laboratory Resources and Simulation Learning. “We give them a role and they learn about certain illnesses. The actors change, come into the exam area and we announce ‘Your simulated experience has begun.’ [The student] knocks, enters through this door, and meets their patient sitting on a chair.” It’s all recorded via cameras and mics, she said.

“Using actors helps bring some reality to it,” she said. “They [the actors] study about high cholesterol, blood pressure, common complaints. The students ask the questions, and the actors know what the response should be.”

Following the scenario, students head for the debriefing lab—a large room filled with long, white tables facing a projection screen.

“After the simulated experience, we come here and ask the student, ‘How did it feel? What did you like about it? How can you improve?’” Edmond said.

“Sometimes students will say, ‘I didn’t do that — I spoke to the patient, I did give the medication.’ But guess what? We have it on video. So we pull it up.

“The research shows that the learning takes place right here, where you have the opportunity to look, review, ask questions and get your questions answered,” she added.

Fourth-year student Bal Kharal told the Eagle, “It’s an exciting moment for us. Even though we are leaving, we have seen the transformation, and we have been able to use some of the rooms.”

It’s going to be a great opportunity for next year’s students, he said, because, “It’s multi-disciplined. It’s all going to be coordinated care, that’s how it’s going to happen in the real world.”

“It’s a big deal because we now have a simulation lab where we can practice our skills outside of a hospital, so we’re more comfortable and it’s more controlled,” incoming nursing student Ayesha Soto said.

“There’s everything we would find in a hospital – IV lines, chest tubes, the beds, all of the equipment is there.” She added, “We all received a scholarship through the money that was donated.”

As part of its mission, the center will be providing accessible and affordable health care services for underserved populations in the Downtown Brooklyn area.

The facility will offer education, counseling, and treatment guidance for health problems and will integrate student clinical experience into serving the community.

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