• Simulation Centre and Immersion Room in Orange offers world-class medical training technology for students, healthcare professionals and emergency reponders
• Regional Australians have higher rates of hospitalisations, deaths and injury, and have poorer access to primary healthcare services

A world-class medical simulation centre and immersion room at Charles Sturt University will strengthen regional NSW’s health workforce and improve healthcare outcomes.

Charles Sturt today officially opened the Simulation Centre and Immersion Room in the Bloomfield Medical building in Orange, made possible by more than $1.5 million in funding from Newmont through Cadia’s Community Investment Program.

The facility - the first of its kind in Orange - replicates hospital wards, operating theatres and emergency environments so students can practise procedures and responses in realistic settings.

The Centre is equipped with state-of-the-art, specialist equipment, including:

• advanced patient manikins which mimick a range of medical conditions and responses
• a portable 360-degree camera ring with audio feed to allow scenarios to be recorded and reviewed
• a 19.5-metre x 2.5-metre wraparound LED screen in the immersion room

The facility will also support professional development for regional healthcare professionals and emergency reponders, with training ranging from trauma response and advanced life support to disaster preparedness, emergency management and first aid.

Charles Sturt Vice-Chancellor, Professor Renée Leon, said the centre is a long-term investment in regional NSW’s healthcare system.

“The Newmont Simulation Centre and Immersion Room will help to address the greatest health challenge facing regional Australians: access to a skilled and sustainable healthcare workforce,” Professor Leon said.

“This facility will allow students, junior doctors and local clinicians and health professionals to build skills and expertise helping to ensure patients across our communities recieve the highest standard of care - now and into the future.

“I want to especially thank Newmont for their incredible generosity, as well as the many other partners and Charles Sturt staff who have worked to make the Newmont Simulation Centre and Immersion Room a reality.”

Newmont Cadia General Manager, Lori Douglas, said the investment reflects Newmont's commitment to supporting initiatives that create lasting benefits for regional communities and help build a stronger future workforce.

“At Newmont, our purpose is unearthing value sustainably to advance lives, and through Cadia’s Community Investment Program we are committed to supporting the economic and social development of the Central West.”

“We are proud to invest in the creation of this training facility that will help equip the next generation of healthcare professionals with the experience to strengthen the region’s healthcare capabilities and improve outcomes for local communities.”

According to the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, approximately seven million people - or 27 per cent of the Australian population - live in regional, rural and remote areas.

People living in these areas have higher rates of hospitalisations, deaths and injury, and have poorer access to primary healthcare services.

Charles Sturt’s School of Rural Medicine was established to help address those challenges by training doctors in regional Australia, for regional Australia.

That approach is already delivering results, with 82 per cent of the School’s inaugural medicine graduates commencing their careers in non-metropolitan locations and 97 per cent of graduates surveyed stating a preference for future practice in rural and regional Australia.

The Centre will further strengthen that pipeline by allowing students to gain advanced clinical experience without leaving Orange, where the School of Rural Medicine is based.