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Medical Modeling

Simlearn National Center
The Simlearn National Center will train V.A. Hospital workers in medical modeling and simulation techniques.

Touted by local leaders as the nation’s epicenter for modeling, simulation and training, central Florida is competing successfully against other areas with similar industry clusters, including Norfolk, Va., and Huntsville, Ala.

Critical Mass
Central Florida’s simulation and training sector:

» 150-plus companies

» 16,847 workers

» $3 billion in gross regional product

In February, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs chose Orlando as the site of its future medical simulation center for excellence. The program will be housed at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which opens in 2012 and is the largest project in the medical city at Lake Nona at 1.2 million square feet. ?

Initially, the Simlearn National Center will create 12 jobs with salaries between $75,000 and $150,000, according to Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas. It will bring in V.A. workers from across the country for training in medical modeling and simulation techniques to improve treatment for veterans.

Most significant for central Florida, it’s a major step toward diversifying the local modeling and simulation industry and it strengthens the area’s goal of becoming a destination for medical tourism.

“For 60 years, the area and the industry have been focused on the Department of Defense,” says Thomas L. Baptiste, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who in January became president and executive director of the National Center for Simulation in Orlando. “The good news is the world-class capabilities that have been developed over those years have direct application to many other areas, such as medical, education, transportation, homeland security and the entertainment industry. There are so many things that have been developed with the military application that can be spun off.”