‘Cute’ new robots join critical care team at Baptist Health

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — They may be described as cute, but these robots also have a very serious mission: to free up nurses’ time by taking care of tasks that would require them to leave their patients’ bedsides.

Baptist Health is now the first health system in Florida to use these point-to-point robots, known as Moxi, to assist nurses and other clinical team members.

Moxi’s giant blue blinking eyes turn to giant hearts with a single chirp, adding an inviting touch, but it has a very serious role in delivering critical items.

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Baptist Health has deployed two Moxi robots within the J. Wayne & Delores Barr Weaver Tower at Baptist Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Its initial implementation is expected to last six to eight months followed by an evaluation period.

“Right now, clinicians have to leave the floor to go to the pharmacy, potentially and pick up medication, or go to dietary to pick up food and bring it back to the patients,” said Tammy Daniel, Chief Nursing Officer at Baptist Health. “So Moxy will be able to go do those tasks.”

Baptist Health said in a news release that nationally, nursing staff may spend a considerable amount of their time on routine, non-patient-facing tasks, which is why Moxi was designed and created to help with:

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• Delivering lab samples and medications that are typically hand-delivered
• Distributing personal protective equipment and lightweight medical equipment
• Getting treatment items from central supply that are not stocked on patient care units
• Picking up items that have been left for patients at the front desk

You’ll be able to spot these robots roaming the hallways and maybe even sharing an elevator with you, and they use sensors to navigate carefully.

Rather than replace jobs, Michael Mayo, President and CEO for Baptist Health, says these cyber helpers are making already existing ones for nurses, easier.

“They can devote their time to what they love to do, which is taking care of our patients,” he said.

A spokesperson for Baptist Health says support for this initiative was provided by the Reid Endowment for Technology at Baptist Health, established in 2008, to support clinical and information technology to advance the use of technology for both medical and information purposes. Additional support was provided by the Miller Electric Technology Endowment at Baptist Health, established in 2014, to provide equipment to enhance technology.

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