As Orlando awaits the opening of its new VA Hospital located in Lake Nona, plans are already underway for the newest VA hospital; one that won’t reside in any particular city, but instead will be accessible to patients and staff from anywhere online.

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Manny Dominguez, Ph.D., the Deputy Chief Learning Officer for the Veterans Health Administration Employee Education System, is leading the effort to build the first virtual VA Medical Center.

The VA Virtual Medical Center, the first of its kind, is under development and the leader of this effort, Dr. Manny Dominguez, is one of four scheduled keynote speakers at GameTech 2014. Each of the speakers are deeply immersed in serious gaming, virtual worlds, and mobile learning, and will share their knowledge and thoughts on ways to ensure these future technologies continue to be used to their full potential; specifically for learning.

Manny Dominguez, Ph.D., is the Deputy Chief Learning Officer (DCLO) for the Veterans Health Administration, Employee Education System (EES), and one of his many responsibilities is building a virtual medical center for the Veterans Health Administration.

“In order to enhance care delivery and education, we’re embarking on a 21st century virtual hospital and learning environment that gives patients and staff direct access to medical education, wellness tools and hundreds of VA resources, anytime and anywhere,” Dominguez said.

Not only does the planned virtual medical center integrate potential opportunities for medical consultation, patient collaboration, patient education and continuing education for staff, but it will also provide validated subject matter expert medical information to frequently asked questions.

“Our newest generation of Veterans is very tech savvy and embraces virtual world technologies,” Dominguez said. “The VMC will allow geographically separated staff and patients to interact ‘in-world’ in an appealing and familiar environment. In-world opportunities can provide important care resources and rich education experiences for all learners.”

The nation’s top non-profit simulation organization, the National Center for Simulation (NCS), along with Team Orlando, hosts the annual event. The event focuses on how serious games, virtual worlds and mobile apps that help both the military and civilian organizations train, educate and improve workforce performance through the use of technology.
Dominguez joins four other keynote speakers: Eric Preisz, CEO of GarageGames, serving as the Games Keynote; Waymon Armstrong, CEO, Engineering & Computer Simulations, as the Industry Keynote; Dr. Sara de Freitas, Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Curtin University (London) as Mobile Gaming Keynote; and Dr. Stephen Gilbert, Associate Director for the Virtual Reality Applications Center, for Virtual Worlds.

Dominguez, a retired Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel, is a Florida native who came to the VHA Employee Education System just last year after he developed similar emerging technologies in industry and as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Air Force Medical Modeling and Simulation (AFMMAST) program. As CIO, he launched the IT division that enabled virtual reality medical training and environments for all medical personnel in the U.S. Air Force. He also launched the first medical modeling and simulation portal, along with the first Air Force Virtual Medical Center.

GameTech is Sept. 3-5 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, FL., and the event is open to anyone interested in the use of games, virtual worlds, and mobile applications for training and education. Attendees can register through the registration tab on the event website www.gametechconference.com. Speakers will highlight the best uses and development tools and techniques that result in innovative training and education programs.

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