This is not some robot-like orderly. He's an orderly-like robot, the first of its kind to work in Pennsylvania and one of eight in the nation, according to the robot's creators at Transitions Research Corp., in Danbury, Conn.
Abington Memorial Hospital Vice President Richard Montalbano said the HelpMate robot, replete with flashing yellow lights, 17 sonar sensors, and a white, 5-foot-high frame, is being leased for $5 per hour to lend a helping hand.
The robot is affectionately referred to by nutrition department staff as Robby, after the robot in the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet. However, this Robby does more in one night than the old tubehead did on an entire space voyage.
"The idea was to allow people to spend more time with people," Montalbano said, "because that's what we're all about. By using the robot, we allow people to do what they're supposed to be doing."
Hospital officials found that time was being wasted by nutrition employees, orderlies and other staff. Delivering food trays to patients and rushing new medical supplies to nursing stations was taking staff away from the patients. Now, with the help of the robot, these workers can spend more time attending to the needs of the patients and less time doing grunt work.
"I don't think there's anyone who takes exception to not running errands," Montalbano said.
Gwen Arnold, patient services manager of Abington's nutrition department, said some workers first thought the robot was an omen - the depersonalization of medical care and the beginning of the end of their careers. "They were kind of jittery at the start," she said. "But they quickly found out he wasn't here to replace them. They know now he's only here to help us be more efficient."
