Hospital staff at Cedars-Sinai using simulations to practice treatments for coronavirus patients

LOS ANGELES - At Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, staff members are using simulations to practice treatments for coronavirus patients.

The simulation looks very real, but it isn't. It's how medical professionals train in order to prepare to face those situations in real life.

"This is an incredibly realistic environment — and that's what we do," said Russell Metcalf-Smith Associate Director, Simulation Center. "We bring healthcare providers into environments that look identical to where they work every single day. So we can simulate everything from heart surgery to cardiac arrests to newborn deliveries."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve had the busiest two months in the past two years with up to 5,000 medical professionals coming to train in new safe ways to treat patients, roughly twice as many staff than in normal times. 

They’re even learning how to social distance in a hospital setting while treating patients.

Doctors and nurses are even using virtual reality powered Virti to learn skills to treat coronavirus patients and they're able to train right from their homes.

"School was postponed in March, I thought, 'What's gonna happen? I don't know exactly how to run a code in COVID situations.' But with this VR viewer and the simulated patients, I feel a lot more confident," said resident Brandon Schwartz.

"Women’s Guild just funded, several weeks ago, $100,000 for this virtual reality equipment to keep doctors and residents up to date with COVID," said Women's Guild President Shelley Cooper. "So we are excited to keep being dynamic with this dynamic institution."

The stimulations are helping doctors practice how to stay safe so they can save more lives during this crisis. 

FOX 11's Andrew Gutierrez and Mary Stringini contributed to this report.