I am pleased to share that entering its fourth year, the SSH Fund has raised almost $250,000!
This is an amazing milestone, and we are incredibly grateful to all of you who have donated over these last three years. We would not be here without you and your generous support. Thank you! To find out more about the SSH Fund or to donate, please go to https://ssih.org/ssh-fund.
There is a new chair of the Development Committee this year — say hello to Jen Arnold! We are excited to welcome Jen into this very important role, following on from Barry Issenberg’s tenure as chair. KT Waxman continues as our vice chair for this year. Jen brings a great energy and perspective to the role — so if you are interested in joining this committee, we have several openings. Please visit the Calls for Service page for more information: .
We are also pleased to share the impact of your donations over the last year. The SSH Fund supports multiple initiatives that have been identified by the SSH Membership for support. The impact of the 2025 donations includes:
Chad Epps Memorial Lecture at IMSH
Tania Katan launched IMSH with a high-energy presentation!
Beverlee Anderson Education Scholarship Fund
The recipients of the scholarship to attend IMSH 2026 were:
- John DeMaio, BS, EMT, EMS-I, Stamford Health, Stamford, CT
- Emily Bishop, CNA, BA, University of Colorado College of Nursing (Anschutz Medical Campus), Aurora, CO
- Dr. Soheir Elbanna, MSN, MBA, Master in Planning for Sustainable Development, PhD(c), The Egyptian Chinese University, Cairo, Egypt
SimVentors Award Winners at IMSH 2026
With over 65 SimVentors submissions, the decisions on which ones would receive these awards was challenging! Be sure to get your submission for IMSH 2027 ready now—you might be the next award winner (submissions for IMSH 2027 will open in early April!)
- Best IMPACT: Yahya Acar - Development and Validation of a Cost-Effective 3D-Printed Cricothyrotomy Simulator for Emergency Airway Training
- Best INNOVATION: Amy Nagle - Immersive Three-dimensional (3D) Visualization of a Heart using a Collaborative Extended Reality Platform
- Best APPROACH: Ashley Scott - Simulating the Future: AI-Powered VR Training for Advanced Practice OSCE Readiness
- People’s Choice Winner: Ratikorn Saejong - AmniGo: The Green Sim
Early Career Research Award
Jacqueline Hannan: Quantifying mental workload with various training strategies for central venous catheter placement
Discovery Award
Jennifer Allegro: Just in Time AI Chatbot Training to Enhance Specialists in Poison Information Responses to Challenging Caller Interactions: A Randomized Control Trial
It is easy to see the impact your donations had from 2025. I hope you will consider making an impact this year by donating as well—the more we grow the SSH Fund, the more we can do with these member-identified initiatives. If you want to see how to give, please go to https://ssih.org/ssh-fund/ways-giving.
Thank you to all who have given over the years. Your generosity is amazing!
Sincerely,
Andrew Spain, PhD, MA, EMT-P
SSH Associate Executive Director