Western Colorado University Opens High-Fidelity Sim Lab to Train Future Nurses

Just over two years after receiving a planning grant to explore the creation of a nursing program, Western Colorado University offered supporters a sneak peek at a state-of-the-art simulation lab on Thursday, November 20, bringing one of Colorado’s most realistic medical training environments to the Gunnison Valley.

The Simulation Lab, or simply Sim Lab, is the first physical space developed on Western’s campus to support the nascent nursing program, which has been meeting key milestones on its way to accreditation and an official launch in the Fall of 2026.

Built with over $500,000 in grant funding and support from the Gunnison Valley Health Foundation, the new lab not only provides future nursing students with hands-on clinical training but also offers local healthcare professionals space to earn recertifications and learn new skills.

“This community has been dreaming of a nursing program for a long time; I’ve heard 20-plus years,” Beth Roten, Western’s Director of Nursing, said at the event. “Tonight, you get to see something physical, which makes it real. This is happening.”

Meet the Sim

The Sim Lab is set up as two mock hospital rooms, one with an open floor and several patient stations, and an adjoining high-fidelity simulation suite, where an array of technologies is employed to give students a training experience as close to reality as possible.

The Lab’s patients are provided by the industry-leading medical manikin manufacturer Laerdal. In total, there are nine manikins, five of which were on display at the event. All the manikins provide students with important feedback that helps them refine their skills.

However, it was the manikin named SimMan 3G that drew the biggest crowd at the event. Lying on a gurney in the high-fidelity suite, SimMan costs more than $100,000 and comes with a full complement of bodily systems (respiratory, circulatory, and digestive) that can be manipulated to produce hundreds of medical scenarios for students to respond to. Each interaction is recorded as a series of data points, providing instructors and students with vital feedback.

SimMan’s synthetic ‘skin’ can bleed or sweat. If he becomes hypoxic, cyanosis lights will shine blue beneath his skin near the fingertips and lips. Tiny speakers pump out the sounds of bodily systems, and he can even scream and cry.

The high-fidelity suite is also equipped with an advanced AV system that records each scenario for debriefing sessions, helping students sharpen their critical thinking, communication, and clinical reasoning skills.

“We’re actually the highest fidelity nursing skills lab in the state of Colorado because we chose not to purchase any low-fidelity equipment,” Roten said. “We wanted students to have every tool available to them, so they could make mistakes here, not with a live patient.”

Community Investment, Regional Impact

The Sim Lab was funded through a combination of grants and critical support from the Gunnison Valley Health Foundation. Through a partnership with Gunnison Valley Health, Western’s program is being developed with a focus on preparing nurses for the unique challenges of rural healthcare.

With the University launching a full Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program as well as an accelerated BSN in 2026, the energy around nursing at Western is growing.

In a step toward regulatory approval, the Higher Learning Commission agreed to visit campus to review Western’s BSN program 30 days earlier than previously planned, on December 15. The program has already earned approval from the Colorado Department of Higher Education and is in Phase Two of the Board of Nursing’s approval process.

With the University’s help, local high school students are also getting early exposure to the nursing field through a vocational Pathways program, which has recently opened its own brand-new 1,300-square-foot simulation space.

“This shows your interest in the well-being of our community. It shows the collective spirit toward health,” Roten said to the crowd of supporters. “Nursing is about care. It’s a science. It’s an art. And we want to be there for all of you when you need us.”