If you walk through the halls of the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital, you may notice a novel variety of staff assistants delivering medical supplies and meals between departments and floors. The very focused fleet of 4-foot-tall helpers at the new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital may not greet you or respond to your attention, but they’ll stop if you block their path and inform you, “Please stand aside.”
The new children’s hospital opened in September with a fleet of 90 robots, or what the hospital refers to as “robos.” The hospital’s fleet is believed to be among the largest group in the country. Some are wrapped in images that represent the facility, including a child in a red wagon and a dog like the live furry canines used to help patients.
Children and staff light up when they see the “robos,” said Perry Bhamornsiri, the health system’s senior adviser. “It’s fun to see something outside of the clinical staff that takes care of you. It gets their spirits up. It creates a positive type of environment.”
Robots are increasingly used by hospitals around the country to cheer patients and help nurses and other staff run errands or perform other tasks so they can focus on patient care.
The autonomous machines that patients may see at the new Atlanta hospital help staff deliver meals or medication. Other robos operate behind the scenes to transport linens, medical supplies or waste, Bhamornsiri said.
“The robos help lighten the load by delivering meals to our patients,” said Alexa Bennett, a clinical nurse in the hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit. “It is so convenient for our patients and their families to place a food order from their rooms and the robos deliver right up to the floor in such a timely manner. I know the patients and the hospital staff really appreciate it. The patients and their families in particular really enjoy seeing (robos) move around the halls.”
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite previously used a type of robot — wheeled, remote-controlled devices with a speaker and wireless internet connectivity — to allow children on bed rest and in isolation to participate in activities from their hospital beds. The videoconferencing system similar to FaceTime or Skype allowed patients several years ago to talk to Santa.
Robos were part of the original designs for the 2-million-square-foot, 446-bed Blank hospital, Bhamornsiri said. The hospital’s designers thought robos would be helpful to move supplies around the 19-floor facility, he explained.
For example, robos may pick up meals in the hospital’s food service department in the basement of the facility and transport them by elevator to food delivery on upper floors.
Robos, which open doors and elevators electronically, may pick up supplies that were delivered to the hospital’s loading dock and transport them to the nurses’ stations on each floor. A human staff member accepts the delivery and stocks supply rooms on the floors, Bhamornsiri said.
Nurses also can use a code to put blood samples securely into one of the robo’s compartments for transport to the lab for testing. Pharmacy staff use a fingerprint reader to ensure security when transporting deliveries from robos and sending them off on their way again, he said.
Bennett said the robos are a welcomed addition to the new hospital: “Seeing them throughout the halls took some getting used to, but at the end of the day, they’re so helpful to have around. It also helps that they provide a bit of entertainment and put smiles on our patients’ faces.”
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