NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Holds Annual Simulation Week to Enhance Staff Training and Patient Care
The annual event gives staff hands-on opportunities to practice clinical scenarios, strengthen teamwork and communication, and enhance patient safety in a controlled learning environment
Sep 23, 2026
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County held its annual Simulation Week, providing hospital staff and learners with opportunities to practice clinical skills and learn more about the role of simulation in healthcare.
As part of the week, the hospital’s Simulation Center hosted a Simulation Fair featuring hands-on demonstrations across a range of clinical areas, including trauma, behavioral health, OB/GYN and nursing. Participants engaged with simulation equipment and training scenarios that showcased how healthcare teams prepare for a variety of patient-care situations.
The Simulation Fair also brought together staff, learners, patients and families, giving members of the Kings County Hospital community an opportunity to experience simulation training firsthand and learn more about the work of the Simulation Center. The event highlighted the collaboration among different areas of the hospital and the people involved in preparing teams for patient care.
Simulation training provides healthcare professionals with a safe, controlled environment to practice responding to challenging situations. It allows participants to reinforce clinical skills, strengthen communication and collaboration, and prepare for situations they may encounter in patient care. The event also highlighted the staff and educators who support simulation-based learning at Kings County Hospital and the Simulation Center’s role in providing training opportunities across the hospital.
“Healthcare Simulation Week reminds us that excellence in patient care starts with practice. Our Simulation Health Fair brought teams together to learn, strengthen skills, and support safer, higher-quality care,” said Sheldon McLeod, Chief Executive Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “At NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, we train with purpose because every moment of readiness can make a difference in a patient’s life. We are proud to celebrate the dedicated teams preparing today to deliver safer, stronger care tomorrow.”
“Simulation has been essential in fields like aviation, where pilots train for rare and high-risk scenarios before facing them in real life, and medicine must embrace that same commitment to preparation,” said Andrew G. Winer, MD, FACS, Director of Robotic Surgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “At Kings County, simulation allows our teams to practice critical skills, strengthen communication, and learn in a safe environment, ultimately preparing us to deliver safer, higher-quality care to the patients and communities we serve.”
“Healthcare Simulation Week is an important opportunity to showcase the value simulation brings to our hospital, the patients and the families we serve,” said Dr. Rajesh Verma, Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “Our Simulation Center’s September 15 Simulation Fair highlighted our commitment to innovative training and education, featuring hands-on demonstrations across a range of clinical areas; trauma, behavioral health, OB/GYN, and nursing, just to name a few. Bringing staff, learners, patients, and families together gave our community a firsthand look at how we prepare our teams to deliver safe, high-quality, and equitable care. We are proud to recognize the dedicated people who make this work possible and to celebrate simulation as an essential part of advancing patient safety and excellence in care.”
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MEDIA CONTACT: Alexis Davis, Chief Communications Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is a 639-bed acute care teaching hospital located in Central Brooklyn. Among our highly specialized programs are a Level I Trauma Center, Pediatric Emergency Room, Level 3 Perinatal Center, Heart Health Center, Stroke Center, Sickle Cell Program, Behavioral Health Center, and Diabetes Education Center of Excellence. Many of our programs have received national recognition, including our cardiac, stroke, and diabetes services. The hospital offers a broad array of primary and specialty care, including practices in neuroscience, orthopedics, urology and cardiology. Annually, our ambulatory care practices see well over 500,000 visits and more than 150,000 visits in the Behavioral Health outpatient program, in addition to close to 23,000 inpatient discharges. NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County has played a major role in providing health care to vulnerable populations in Brooklyn since 1831 and is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health care system in the nation. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/kingscounty and stay connected on Facebook at facebook.com/KingsCountyHosp or X at @KingsCountyHosp.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.