ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Rochester-based health care system says some new helpers will allow nurses and other medical professionals to put more of their focus on patient care. 

Nearly every employer needs good help these days. Even the hospital. Unity Hospital found some in the form of a robot named Moxi.

“Moxi’s a robot, so it's really an it, or they/them,” said Casey Wilbert, who supervises pharmacy services at Rochester Regional Health. 

Wilbert says the robot can move items normally taken from floor to floor by nurses or other staff. Medications, labs, supplies — items normally delivered by staffers with a lot already on their plates.

“In overnight hours where staff is really much shorter, if there's a call in or someone can't make it to work, we're really having to pull people out,” he said. “So in those hours, especially having a different tool and a resource for us, is going to be really helpful so we're not constantly being pulled out of the pharmacy.”

That’s where robots come in. Four of them at Unity and four at Rochester General. RRH is the first healthcare system in New York state to use the robots, developed by an Austin, Texas firm, Diligent Robotics.

“Never thought I would see the day,” said Shannon Bentham, VP and chief nursing care officer at Unity Hospital. “But it's fantastic.”

There has been recent labor tension between RGH and its nurses. The need for Moxi is simple, according to hospital officials. Provide better care to patients — and help, not replace — hospital workers.

“So that's one of the big things we want to make sure everyone knows,” said Wilbert. “We're not here to take jobs away, we're not eliminating positions. We really understand, as an organization that our workforce is really stretched as it is so we want to do everything that we can to make their lives easier.“

“I really think that it will enable our clinical staff to get back to the bedside,” added Bentham.

Moxi runs autonomously around the hospital. Sensors keep it from running into people, as the robot delivers medications and other supplies. In a place where time can save lives, a helping hand is a welcome one.