Methodist Hospital's Latacha Education Center ready to serve staff, patients and caregivers

Thanks to support from Methodist Hospital Foundation and a Nebraska Hospital Association grant, the Latacha Education Center – a state-of-the-art simulation lab – has become a reality.

The $1 million project – which was designed to improve staff knowledge and performance as well as patient care and safety – is dedicated to the late Matthew Latacha, MD, a longtime Methodist cardiologist who passed away in September 2023. 

“It keeps his memory alive," said Kim Latacha, Dr. Latacha's widow. "It keeps people talking about him, what he did, and what he contributed in this area."

The center, located in Methodist Hospital's Cardiac Unit, is equipped with conference room space for staff and patient families as well as a control center for a fully stocked hospital room that’s furnished with two AI-enhanced patient simulators/manikins that can move, speak and present numerous condition-specific symptoms.

Dr. Latacha, a well-known and highly revered electrophysiologist, was equally passionate about medical education as he was about the world of cardiology. This staff development nurse-led endeavor reinforces his dedication to education by serving as a space to train countless health care professionals on a variety of medical interventions and equip families to take better care of their loved ones following hospitalization.

"Nurses, respiratory therapists, all the way through anybody who's even entry-level and has never been in health care before," said Robyn Sadle, cardiac clinical nurse educator. "It has the opportunity and different teaching modalities to meet every one of those needs. We can teach families how to change wound dressings or colostomy bags. The possibilities are endless."

"I think he would be the first one in here, scheduling something, and would probably be the top user," Kim Latacha said. "This is absolutely right up his alley."

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