VCOM 2022 Annual Report

The Alma and T. R. Garrison Fund at the Spartanburg County Foundation Provides New Pediatric Simulation Manikin of Color

W hile diversity within education materials and training scenarios is more critically important than ever, there is a striking absence of black and brown skin tones in medical textbook illustrations and in simulation centers in medical schools across the country. Thanks to a $29,000 gift from the Alma and T. R. Garrison Fund at the Spartanburg County Foundation, VCOM-Carolinas has added a pediatric simulation manikin of color to its Simulation Center. This new manikin will help strengthen VCOM’s diversity and inclusion efforts among current and prospective medical students. It will also serve to properly train future physicians to recognize, diagnose and treat patients with darker skin, as a range of conditions can go misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed in darker skinned patients, sometimes with dangerous results.

and aware of the ethnic differences in treating patients of all backgrounds. This effort directly aligns with the purpose of the Alma and T. R. Garrison Fund. The Garrison family entrusted the foundation many years ago with resources to advance the field of medical research and study. “This manikin allows students and educators to practice healthcare skills in real-time and be better prepared to provide vital care in our community,” said Mary L. Thomas, Spartanburg County Foundation’s chief operating officer and executive director of the Robert Hett Chapman III Center for Philanthropy. Top Left: Cathy McAbee, who serves as a Board Trustee for The Spartanburg County Foundation observes students performing a demonstration in the Simulation Center. Top Middle: A $29,000 gift from The Alma and T. R. Garrison Fund at The Spartanburg County Foundation adds a pediatric simulation manikin of color to the VCOM-Carolinas Simulation Center. Top Right: The Spartanburg County Foundation Board of Trustees paid a site visit to VCOM-Carolinas. Here, they watch medical students perform a simulated emergency procedure on the pediatric manikin.

“The shifting demographics within our community and throughout the nation

underscore the importance of training medical students on simulation manikins of varying skin tones. This proactive measure trains the next generation of physicians to be familiar with

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