How likely are other healthcare organizations to adopt this approach in presenting themselves to the public? In 2008, Palomar Pomerado Health in San Diego cut the virtual ribbon for a new facility not scheduled to open until 2011. In partnership with Cisco Systems, the health system was able to hold a “grand opening” three years early by creating a simulated version of the reallife Palomar West Medical Campus in Second Life. The health system claims that Palomar West Medical Campus was the first U.S. hospital to be unveiled in Second Life.

By entering Second Life, virtual visitors can tour the facilities and see some of the amenities of the $810 million, real-life publicly financed hospital, which will serve California’s largest public health district.

Under the direction of Palomar’s chief innovation officer, the facility was designed from the ground up to be integrated with leading-edge technology, including medical technology. Its Second Life presence offers patients and the healthcare community a chance to explore these innovations in the virtual world years before the physical facility opens