In 2006, the Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety CoEE was an army of one: Lewis Blackman Endowed Chair in Patient Safety holder John J. Schaefer, III, MD. Charged with creating a statewide network of simulation centers to train the healthcare workforce, Dr. Schaefer lost no time. In three years, simulation centers have opened, been renovated, or expanded at the Clemson University College of Nursing, Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center GHS), Greenville Technical College, MUSC, Palmetto Health, and the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. There are two other Simulation Centers in development at USC Beaufort and Trident Technical College. The centers train medical, nursing, and allied health students as well as hospital employees and physicians.

Simulation network members employ nearly 1,000 different training scenarios, from rapid response training to childbirth emergencies. The CoEE is capturing critical data from these courses to measure the effectiveness of its curricula. Early results indicate that students retain what they learn in simulation training better than traditional clinical training where live patients are involved.