PALM COAST, Fla. — The AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation put donor dollars into perspective during its recent “Delivering Excellence” Luncheon, showing more than 100 community members how their support is helping local nurses advance professionally while preparing hospital teams for medical emergencies they may rarely encounter.
The luncheon highlighted two major areas of investment: nursing education and certification, and the purchase of an advanced maternal simulation mannequin that will help teams train for unexpected deliveries and obstetric emergencies at AdventHealth’s Flagler County hospitals.
The Foundation later announced the new simulator has officially been named Eve, selected by a resounding vote. The name is especially fitting: Eve means “life,” “giver of life” or “mother of all living things.”
While Eve is currently being manufactured, guests received a firsthand look at what she will be capable of through a live demonstration using “Victoria,” a similar simulator brought to Palm Coast for the event.
Donors helping nurses reach the next level …
AdventHealth leaders shared that Palm Coast and Palm Coast Parkway are pursuing the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Pathway to Excellence designation. Documents have already been submitted and approved, with a nurse survey expected in the coming months. Leaders said the hospitals are on track to receive the designation this year.
For donors, however, the luncheon focused less on the recognition itself and more on what investing in nurses means for patients.
“Nursing excellence isn’t about an award or plaque we put on a wall,” attendees were told. “It’s about investing in the person that’s standing next to your bedside, caring for you.”
Between the two facilities, 61% of 324 nurses have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or higher, while 25% hold a national certification. Another 126 registered nurses are ready to advance their education with additional support.
Executive Director of Nursing Tammy Cornelius explained that nurses often want to pursue advanced certifications but face practical barriers, including the expense.
“Sometimes things can get in the way. Life, finances, things of that nature,” Cornelius said. “We want to remove barriers so that we can help our team do the best they can be. Because that affects what happens at the bedside.”
Certification preparation courses can cost hundreds of dollars, as can the exams themselves. National conferences can cost approximately $2,500 with travel and lodging, while sponsoring an entire educational class can cost around $5,000.
Cornelius credited the Foundation with helping nurses overcome those barriers.
“Our Foundation has moved mountains for them,” she said.
The impact is already showing. Fifty-one nurses recently registered for a Certified Emergency Nurse review course, while other nurses have received support for specialty education, conferences and professional development.
Emergency Department Nurse Manager Michele Diformato said having a certification course offered locally finally gave her an opportunity she had wanted for years.
“They’re always offered in Palm Beach or somewhere,” she said, explaining that working locally five days a week made traveling for training difficult. Having the class on campus, she said, “was just so valuable to many of us.”
Rosa Coffey, an assistant nurse manager, shared how AdventHealth and Foundation support helped her earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees, attend a national conference and continue developing as a certified emergency nurse.
“You have been there for me when I’ve had financial difficulties,” Coffey told donors, adding that the assistance allowed her to remain focused on caring for patients.
“Because of you, we have more nurses that are certified in our EDs,” she said. “I’m grateful for you for investing in my professional development.”
Foundation representatives announced that donor support has already helped increase the Nursing Excellence Fund nearly twofold since the campaign began, with fundraising expected to continue through 2027.
Meet Eve
The second half of the luncheon put that commitment to preparation dramatically on display.
AdventHealth Palm Coast has a state-of-the-art simulation center with five simulation labs, where clinical teams can practice challenging scenarios without placing actual patients at risk.
“We don’t want practice to take place upstairs in the patient rooms where we have real patients,” Simulation Manager Chad Corliss explained. “We want expert care there.”
Simulation allows entire teams to train together in realistic situations, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and emergency medical personnel. That becomes particularly important with what Corliss described as “high-risk, low-frequency events” — emergencies that may not happen often but can have serious consequences when they do.
That is where Eve comes in.
Neither AdventHealth Palm Coast nor Palm Coast Parkway operates a labor and delivery unit. Approximately 900 births occur annually among Flagler County residents, according to information presented at the luncheon, which hospital leaders said is not enough volume to support a dedicated labor and delivery program with its specialized physicians, nurses and certifications. Patients are generally directed to AdventHealth Daytona Beach, which has specialized obstetric services and a Level III NICU.
Babies, however, don’t always follow the plan.
Hospital leaders said approximately four to six babies are delivered unexpectedly at the local hospitals each year. Travelers may also see the blue hospital sign from Interstate 95 and pull into an emergency department without realizing the facility does not routinely deliver babies.
“We don’t deliver babies. We’re not an obstetric facility, but it still happens here,” Corliss explained. “We want to focus on those high-risk, low-frequency events. That’s when things can go seriously wrong, especially if it’s not something you do every day.”
Florida’s pediatric readiness requirements also took effect July 1, making continued preparation for pediatric emergencies an important component of hospital training.
Eve will allow teams to rehearse routine deliveries as well as complicated scenarios such as breech births, postpartum hemorrhage, emergency cesarean procedures and maternal cardiac arrest. Training can extend beyond hospital staff to EMS agencies that may encounter a mother in labor before she ever reaches an emergency department.
The complete simulation package is approximately $110,000 and includes the maternal simulator as well as interchangeable components and equipment needed to create realistic training scenarios.
During the luncheon, guests watched “Victoria” go into labor as members of the simulation team responded to the increasingly urgent scenario. Victoria was on loan from the manufacturer while AdventHealth’s own simulator — now Eve — is being built in Miami.
The realism was intentional.
“When you’re in that room and you’re sweating because you feel that it’s real,” Corliss explained, the training begins to replicate the pressures healthcare professionals face during an actual emergency.
And AdventHealth has already seen how that preparation can pay off.
Corliss recalled a team participating in delivery simulation training shortly before encountering an unexpected real-world birth at Palm Coast Parkway. The physician involved was impressed by how smoothly the staff responded.
“She didn’t have to ask for anything,” he said. “The nurses knew exactly what to do. They knew how to set up the equipment. They were ready to go.”
When the physician asked how the team had been so prepared, the answer was simple: “Just trained on this a week ago.”
