LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – The world is dealing with a nursing crisis. Two out of three nurses in the United States say they are considering leaving the profession. Between fatigue, retirements and an aging population, there may not be enough nurses to meet the growing demand.
One answer could be robots. Not to replace nurses, but to help in tasks that take their time away from patients.
From fetching supplies, delivering food, and running to treatments, Moxy is paving the way for robots in healthcare. “We can’t produce more nurses and the demand is off the charts right now,” said Aaron Miri, chief digital and information officer at Baptist Health. “So, how do you get them to work smarter and not work harder? Moxie is the quickest way to do that.”
Moxy uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to navigate halls and move people around. Equipped with three locking drawers and automatic arm.
“Moxy is going to the pharmacy and nutritionist to get food and supplements, to give our clinical team the medications they’re giving to patients,” said Tammy Daniels with Baptiste. Health.
Recent studies show that nurses spend at least an hour monitoring equipment. That’s where Moxie is making its biggest impact at hospitals like Baptist Health.
“Just yesterday, it took about 15 minutes for Moxy to walk down the road from the pharmacy. So when you multiply that several times a day and then several times a week,” Daniel said.
“That’s more time spent with the patient, more time to do what we need to do, not only for the patient, but also for our family members,” said Baptist Health nurse Lionel Quinn.
Moxy is currently available in over a hundred hospitals across the country, but there are concerns that robots could replace humans. A survey of nurses who worked with birthing robots found that nearly half were concerned that the robots were a threat to their jobs.
“Every organization is looking at how they can best utilize their existing human resources,” says Greg Spring with Agile Robotics. “Moxi can’t really replace the human touch.”
Currently, robots in healthcare are used only for tasks that take time to repeat without patient interaction. And experts believe robots that walk the halls could be one of many solutions to the growing healthcare crisis.
“Put it this way, if Tesla has had such an impact on society with autonomous cars, why can’t autonomous robots have the same impact on healthcare?” asks Miri.
At Cedars-Sinai, within six weeks of initial implementation, Moxie saved clinical teams on nearly 300 miles of walking.
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