Jump Trading Center open

The new Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, a collaborative effort between OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, is open.

The center, named for the Chicago investment firm at which the center's chief benefactor is managing partner, was blessed Thursday during a dedication ceremony by Bishop Daniel Jenky.

"The Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center will redefine clinical training, research and education," said Kevin Schoeplein, CEO of OSF Healthcare System, in a news release. "It will improve the safety and quality of health care that we provide for our patients. It is seldom that we can say about an event that we were present for the first step of a revolution in health care and medicine, but that is exactly what we are witnessing here today."

Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, or Jump, is a virtual hospital, combining actual medical equipment and the latest simulation technology for better education, performance training and research with the goal of ultimately improving patient health outcomes and lowering health care costs.

"These exciting developments are not just about a new building, this is about using every tool in the toolkit – and building new tools when we must – to bend the cost curve and increase the quality and safety of the care we provide," said Dr. John Vozenilek, Jump's Chief Medical Officer.

Built on the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center campus in downtown Peoria, the $51 million project was made possible, in part, thanks to a $25 million donation by Bill & Dr. Mary DiSomma and the DiSomma Family Foundation. Bill DiSomma is a managing partner at Jump Trading.

"At the heart of medical education and at the heart of patient care, is communication," said Dr. Sara Rusch, regional dean at the College of Medicine. "It is learning how to sit down with a patient, face to face, and listen to them; it's learning how physicians and nurses communicate so that the whole health care team works together seamlessly. We will recruit and retain the best students, residents and practicing physicians because of Jump."

Another unique aspect of Jump is medical innovation, pairing of clinicians and engineers, including those at the University of Illinois. "These are the kinds of tools that will break open new fields of inquiry not imagined even a few years ago," said University of Illinois President Dr. Robert Easter.

500 simulation trainings for physicians, clinicians, and first responders have already been scheduled in the first six months following Jump's opening, the release said.