WorldPoint and Harper College Launch Hands-On Experience Lab for the Future of Healthcare and Emergency Services Training
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PALATINE, Ill. — September 9, 2026 — This is not another conference where attendees spend the day sitting through presentations.
On Tuesday, September 15, WorldPoint and Harper College will bring healthcare educators, simulation leaders, EMS and fire professionals, workforce-development organizations and industry experts together for the inaugural Clinical & Emergency Services Experience Lab at Harper College’s Wojcik Conference Center in Palatine.
Known as CESEL, the free event is built around participation. Attendees will get out of their seats, experience healthcare and emergency-training technology firsthand, compare products, meet directly with manufacturer experts and join candid conversations about one of the industry’s most urgent questions:
How do we prepare the next generation of healthcare and emergency-services professionals to perform confidently when the stakes are highest?
“We didn’t want to create another conference where people spend the day being talked at,” said Shelly Amato, Executive Vice President of WorldPoint. “We wanted educators and industry professionals to try the technology, ask difficult questions, learn from one another and leave with ideas they can actually use. CESEL is about moving beyond simply training people and asking whether we are truly preparing them to perform in the real world.”
MORE THAN $6,000 IN TRAINING PRODUCTS WILL BE GIVEN AWAY
Attendees will have the opportunity to take valuable new training resources back to their organizations.
More than $7,000 in professional healthcare and emergency-training products will be awarded throughout the day, including a Laerdal Advanced Airway Solution. Additional products and resources will be given away by participating industry partners.
The Laerdal Advanced Airway Solution enables learners to practice the full spectrum of airway management—from basic techniques to difficult and contaminated-airway situations—while incorporating CPR and team-based resuscitation. Its realistic, high-pressure scenarios help participants strengthen technical skills, clinical judgment, communication and coordinated team response when every second matters.
HANDS-ON ACCESS TO IN-DEMAND TECHNOLOGY
The Experience Lab will give attendees one-on-one access to manufacturer representatives and innovative products serving nursing, EMS, fire and rescue, CPR, allied health, clinical education and workforce training.
Featured hands-on experiences will include:
- Defibtech’s ARM XR automated chest-compression device
- Laerdal airway, resuscitation and clinical-training solutions
- Innosonian’s Brayden CPR manikin and Brayden AED Trainer
The Defibtech ARM XR allows EMS and healthcare professionals to explore automated CPR technology designed to provide consistent compressions while reducing responder fatigue during cardiac-arrest care.
Innosonian’s Brayden manikin provides objective feedback that helps learners see and improve the quality of their CPR performance. Paired with the Brayden AED Trainer, it creates an integrated CPR and defibrillation-training experience that allows learners to practice the full response to a cardiac-arrest emergency.
Attendees will be able to handle the equipment, see how it performs and speak directly with the people who understand how it can be used in real training environments.
Products and experts from Nasco Healthcare and BT Inc. will also be part of the Experience Lab, expanding the hands-on experience across patient care, resuscitation, clinical skills and simulation.
A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE TECHNOLOGY
Technology is only part of the day.
CESEL will give attendees opportunities to connect with peers who are facing many of the same challenges: building learner confidence, closing the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world performance, responding to workforce shortages and preparing students to make decisions in high-consequence environments.
Attendees will hear directly from educators, healthcare professionals, emergency-services leaders and industry experts who share a concern for workforce readiness and the future of healthcare education.
The day will include:
- A networking breakfast
- An industry keynote from nationally recognized educator David C. Berry, Ph.D.
- A Harper College Workforce Readiness Spotlight
- Extensive hands-on time in the Experience Lab
- A multidisciplinary Leadership Lunch Forum
- Short Innovation Spotlight presentations focused on practical challenges and solutions
- Product giveaways valued at more than $7,000
- Time to meet directly with peers, educators, industry professionals and manufacturers
Berry’s keynote, “Ready When It Matters: Designing Emergency Training That Transfers to Real-World Action,” will challenge attendees to look beyond course completion and consider whether training truly prepares learners to act under stress, uncertainty and real-world pressure.
The Leadership Lunch Forum will bring together perspectives from across the education-to-workforce pathway:
- Renae St.Clair, Medical Academy Coordinator at Huntley High School
- Dana Wong, MSN, RN, ACCNS-BC, CNE, CHSE, CNRN, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Skills and Simulation Coordinator at Westmont College
- Anthony Minarcik, Emergency Management Specialist at Triton College
- Kathy J. Linville, BHS, RRT, respiratory therapist, healthcare educator and Channel Partner Manager with Laerdal Medical
Their conversation will explore what workforce readiness actually looks like, where the greatest gaps exist between training and practice, how educators can build confidence and competency, and where collaboration and innovation can make the greatest difference.
A NEW ERA OF HANDS-ON TRAINING AT HARPER COLLEGE
CESEL comes as Harper College expands its role as a regional center for public-safety and workforce education.
Earlier this year, Harper opened its new $9.3 million Emergency Services Training Center. The facility includes more than 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor training space and a four-story fire tower that recreates environments ranging from a single-family home to an apartment corridor and high-rise office.
Designed in collaboration with area fire departments, the center supports realistic training in fire science, emergency medical services, emergency and disaster management, public-safety dispatch, hazardous-materials response, vehicle extrication and multi-agency coordination.
The new facility reflects the same principle at the center of CESEL: people become ready by doing—not simply by listening.
MEDIA ARE INVITED TO EXPERIENCE CESEL
Local reporters, photographers, television crews and community media representatives are invited to attend.
CESEL will provide strong visual and interview opportunities throughout the day, including:
- Hands-on CPR, AED, airway and healthcare-simulation activities
- Demonstrations of automated chest-compression technology
- Interviews with WorldPoint and Harper College representatives
- Interviews with educators, first responders, panelists and manufacturer experts
- Conversations about healthcare workforce readiness, career preparation and training innovation
- Professional training-product giveaways
Media representatives interested in attending, scheduling interviews or arranging photography and video access should contact Shelly Amato at [email protected] or 847-465-3200.
EVENT DETAILS
Clinical & Emergency Services Experience Lab
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Wojcik Conference Center at Harper College
1200 West Algonquin Road
Palatine, Illinois 60067
There is no cost to attend, but advance registration is required.
Event information and registration:
https://www.worldpoint.com/cesel
ABOUT CESEL
The Clinical & Emergency Services Experience Lab was created by WorldPoint and Harper College to connect professionals across healthcare education, simulation, EMS, fire and rescue, workforce development and industry. The event combines hands-on exploration, practical learning and cross-disciplinary conversation to help educators prepare learners for confident, competent real-world performance.
ABOUT WORLDPOINT
WorldPoint provides medical-training products, simulation solutions, emergency-response equipment and personalized support to educators, healthcare organizations, first responders, schools, government agencies and workplace-safety professionals. WorldPoint is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Media Contact
Shelly Amato
Executive Vice President, WorldPoint
[email protected]
847-465-3200
