Rochester Regional Health is currently training a new contingent of staff — but these employees operate using artificial intelligence.
The health care system has deployed Moxi robots to support staff and improve clinical efficiency.
“The robot Moxi is not here to replace any jobs,” said Casey Wilbert, the senior director of acute care pharmacy for Rochester Regional Health. “It's really here to make sure that our team members' lives are easier.”
Rochester Regional will be placing four robots in Rochester General and four in Unity Hospital. The hospitals will initially use the automatons, designed by Diligent Robotics, to transport medical supplies, lab specimens, and medications throughout certain units.
“Moving products throughout a facility is something that takes a lot of time away from patient care and really wouldn't have to be done by a team member if it could be done by a robot,” Wilbert said.
As he leads the project, Wilbert is keeping safety and security in mind. He said Moxi can be accessed only by staff with badges, so nothing being transported can be easily compromised.
“I think everyone realizes that health care is kind of at this turning point where we have to reimagine our work,” he said. “Being able to come up with new and different ways in our delivery of care is really exciting.”
Wilbert emphasized that human connection is still key to patient care. He said he expects that artificial intelligence will not take over the basic clinical functions that hospital staff provide.
“So much of healing is more than just the diagnosis and the treatment, but it is that human connection that that we need as people to help in our healing,” he said.
Wilbert anticipates that the first set of Moxi robots should be fully trained and operating independently by the end of the month.
In a statement to WXXI, the nurses union at Rochester General said, “In addition to these expenditures, we hope Rochester Regional will finally agree to properly invest in the human caregivers that our patients and our community rely on.”
