SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — A humanoid bundle of wires, computer parts and rubbery limbs is providing hospital staffers and first-responders across KELOLAND realistic training in treating patients. “Stan” was in need of immediate care inside SIM-South Dakota’s traveling emergency room.

A modified fire truck paid a house call to the Sanford Research Center in Sioux Falls.

“Stan, my name is Crystal. We’re going to be helping you out here, okay,” nurse practitioner & paramedic Crystal Shramek said.

The mannequin named “Stan” is suffering from a bout with pneumonia.

“I can’t breathe!”

Stan isn’t wired like the rest of us.

“He’s got an inner skeleton that’s made of steel and I’d speculate that there’s a mile of tubes and wires inside of him. Different types of motors, computer parts,” Sanford Health Director of Pre-hospital Care & Simulation Travis Spier said.

A computer programs Stan to come down with a wide range of ailments and injuries to help the medical staff prepare for real-life emergencies.

“My leg hurts!”
“Your leg hurts?”

“We’re able to go in and change his blood pressure, we’re able to change heart rates, we’re able to change how his lungs sound. So, if we want to make it sound like he’s having an asthma attack, we can do that,” Spier said.

Trainees, startled by Stan’s realistic appearance, are sometimes taken aback when they first meet him.

“It’s kind of a step back, kind of freaks them out at first,” Spier said.

Stan here, represents the latest generation of simulated patients. He’s several steps removed from the more old-fashioned ‘Resusci-Annie’ used for CPR training.

“The mannequin, you just kind of pump on the chest, and then we went to mannequins that have a little bit of a feedback device, it was like a clicking device, right? And then now, it’s real-life, I mean you can do a lot with them,” Shramek said.

The SIM truck has traveled nearly a half-million miles over the years training first-responders throughout the region. Never once, losing a patient.

Stan is even equipped with a fluid tank inside his leg that ‘bleeds’ water and food coloring.

The roster of SIM-South Dakota’s mannequins also includes a pregnant patient going into labor.