Surgical Simulation
Harold A. Spratt Center for Simulation and Clinical Learning at Danbury Hospital, WCHN opened in 2014. The facility is roughly 10,000 sq ft, utilized for Medical Education, Surgical Skills, and Clinical Learning.
The Center’s faculty works collaboratively with content experts and other educators to develop scenarios and programs to meet the diverse needs of professionals from varied disciplines and at different stages of their careers. Because of the recognized link between patient safety, teamwork and communication, the Center places special emphasis on programs that are interprofessional in both scope and reach. The Center’s simulation capabilities also address the need for individuals within teams to master their clinical skills, techniques and use of best practices.
Through its cutting-edge facility, and with programs and curricula that place value on interprofessional care, teamwork and clinical skill, the Harold A. Spratt Center for Simulation and Clinical Learning will improve the safety and quality of patient care.
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General Information: ClinicalSimulation@nuvancehealth.org
John R. Leopold, APRN, CHSE, CHSOS; Network Director of Simulation
John Leopold is the Director of Simulation for Nuvance Health. He has been a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner for over 20 years and has been working in healthcare simulation since 2014. He is certified by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare as both an education specialist (CHSES) and an operational specialist (CHSOS). After several years of educating clinicians as part of his clinical and managerial responsibilities in various positions, he assumed leadership of Simulation at Western Connecticut Health Network, as the inaugural director of the Harold A. Spratt Center for Simulation and Clinical Learning in 2014. Since that time, his role has expanded to support simulation across Nuvance Health. He has presented, nationally, on novel simulation program models and applications on numerous occasions. He maintains his clinical practice with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Danbury Hospital. His background prior to healthcare includes teacher training, curriculum development, and educational assessment.
John holds master’s degrees in nursing and public health from Yale University and UNC-Chapel Hill, respectively. His bachelor’s degree is in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut.
Todd Forkin – Simulation Specialist
Todd began as a volunteer at Danbury Hospital’s Emergency Department in 2005. In 2006 he was hired as a Cardiac Technician where he was part of the Outpatient Stress Testing team. In 2015 he joined the Emergency Department as a PCT. In 2022 Todd began working as a Simulation Specialist in the Harold A. Spratt Center for Simulation and Clinical Learning. He is currently a member of SSH (Society for Simulation in Healthcare).
Dawn Woodtke – Simulation Specialist (Norwalk)
Dawn has been in the medical field since she graduated high school and has attended Briarwood College in Southington. She began her healthcare career at Waterbury Hospital in 1990, while also working for a plastic surgeon’s office as a technician until 2015 when she came to Danbury Hospital as an emergency department technician.
She completed certification for EMT in 2014 and since moving to Brookfield with her family, she has been volunteering in providing care for her community for both 911 emergencies and community events.
Dawn came to Norwalk as a simulation specialist in November 2023 and has continued to learn as much as she can to hone her skills and abilities. This includes an EMS Instructor program.
Mattieus Ramirez – Simulation Technician
Mattieus brings a wealth of experience to his role as a Simulation Technician. Before joining Nuvance, he served as a lab assistant at Quinnipiac University’s School of Nursing Simulation Lab, contributing significantly as a member of the simulation team. His background also includes diverse roles in Perioperative services at Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine, as well as experience as an EMT.
Jon Edouard – Simulation Specialist (Vassar Brothers)
With nearly two decades of experience in emergency services, Jon’s journey in healthcare began through his involvement in scouting, where I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Driven by a desire to give back to his community, he joined the local EMS. In 2018, I transitioned to working as a phlebotomist at Vassar Brothers Hospital. Over the years he expanded his role to include teaching ACLS, PALS, Stop the Bleed and BLS with Nuvance Health. In November 2023, he joined the Simulation Team.
Jackie Sidle, CHSE – Manager, Simulated Patient Program
Prior to joining the Nuvance Simulation team in 2018, Jackie served as a standardized patient educator for Yale University School of Medicine and the Frank H. Netter, MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Jackie serves on the Board of Directors for ASPE (The Association of SP Educators), is a member of SSH (Society for Simulation in Healthcare), and is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE).
