New simulation lab opens in Windham Hospital for Eastern nursing students

Lab is the only hospital-based nurse-training facility in eastern Connecticut

by Michael Rouleau

Willimantic, CT (09/24/2025) — Eastern Connecticut State University and Hartford Healthcare unveiled a brand-new nursing simulation lab in Windham Hospital on Sept. 24. With Eastern students, state dignitaries, and Connecticut State University/Hartford HealthCare executives in attendance, the ceremony marked a momentous development in an effort to alleviate the region's nursing shortage.

The new simulation lab is the largest such facility in eastern Connecticut at 6,500 square feet. Known as the "Eastern Connecticut State University/Hartford HealthCare Center for Education Simulation and Innovation (Eastern/HHC CESI)," the lab is a hospital-based high-fidelity simulation unit and the final piece to Eastern's new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, which has just enrolled its third cohort this fall 2025 semester.

"The opening of the nursing simulation lab at Windham Hospital marks an important step forward for Eastern's nursing program," said Eastern President Karim Ismaili. "In this space, our students will learn, practice, and gain confidence in a setting that mirrors the realities of modern healthcare. Thanks to the partnership of Hartford HealthCare, this state-of-the-art training environment will prepare students with the technical skills, judgment, and compassion needed to transform lives and address the urgent nursing shortage in Connecticut."

Featuring state-of-the-art simulation spaces with industry-standard hospital equipment, the sim lab will help prepare Eastern nursing students for all aspects of nursing practice.

"This is more than a lab - it's a commitment to our communities," said Donna Handley, president of Windham Hospital. "By embedding this simulation center within a hospital setting, we're giving students a real-world environment to learn and grow.

Eastern nursing students will begin using the simulation lab this fall semester for labs in psychiatric nursing, medical surgical nursing, and fundamentals in health assessment. Other disciplines the lab will serve include maternity, pediatric, geriatric, and community nursing.

"With state-of-the-art manikins that simulate everything from basic nursing skills to complex medical emergencies, students are immersed in realistic, fast-paced scenarios that reflect the challenges of today's healthcare environments," said Stephen Donahue, system director of operations for the Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI) at Hartford HealthCare.

Among the lab's designated simulation spaces are an ICU room, a labor and delivery/pediatric care room, three standardized patient rooms where students can interact with real-life patients, a large tasks/training skills room with hospital beds, stretchers, and high-fidelity mannequins, and more.

"I am extremely impressed with the amount of advanced equipment available in the new simulation lab," said nursing student Miguel Torres. "While I knew the lab was coming, I didn't expect anything of this scale. It is amazing to have this resource as part of our nursing education at Eastern, as it provides a true hospital-like experience that will prepare us for the real world."

The new simulation lab at Windham Hospital - and Eastern's nursing program overall - was funded by a $1.2-million grant from the CT Health Horizons Initiative, a $35-million state effort aimed at addressing the nursing shortage in Connecticut.

According to CT Health Horizons, hundreds of nursing positions go unfilled each year as the rate of retirements and people leaving the field outpaces the number of new nurses. Additionally, there continues to be a shortage of seats in nursing programs to meet the enrollment demand for new nursing students.

"This collaboration is a model for how health systems and universities can work together to solve workforce challenges," said Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare. "We are proud to partner with Eastern to create a learning environment that not only trains nurses but inspires them. Together, we are investing in the future of healthcare - one student, one simulation, one life-changing experience at a time."

At 138 students since its inception, the BSN program is one of Eastern's fastest-growing majors.

According to Eastern's nursing clinicals director, Christina Nadeau, the partnership between Eastern and HHC is also meant to address the "clinical- and academic-practice gap" for new nurses by providing nursing students with more hands-on nursing practice before they graduate and enter the field.

"Today's nursing workforce requires newly licensed nurses to graduate ready to practice in many different nursing specialties," said Nadeau. "The Eastern/HHC Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation will immerse Eastern nursing students in an actual hospital unit environment, equipping them with knowledge, skills, and confidence to enter the nursing workforce, feeling well prepared to begin their nursing career as safe, newly licensed nurses."

Watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony on CT-N: https://ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?odID=25354

###

Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving upwards of 4,000 students annually on its Willimantic campus. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 68 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal arts foundation grounded in a variety of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 25 public institutions in the North by U.S. News & World Report in its 2025-26 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 15 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.