Watch “Bond” roll down the hall, and, if you’re of a certain age, at least, you might flash back to The Jetsons, Lost in Space or 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Bond bears a passing resemblance to a headless Rosie, the Jetsons’ robot maid, or an armless Robot ”””Danger, Will Robinson!” ”” on Lost in Space. And it (he?) speaks in the mellifluous tones of HAL, the rogue computer in 2001.
This robot is no sci-fi character, though. Bond is one of three TUGs (named for what they do ”” tugging carts and other things) that are employed by the Washington Hospital Center pharmacy here. They can work 24/7, ferrying drugs throughout the hospital without a human tagging along.
heh, interesting timing. i had surgery yesterday and just got off the phone with a hospital rep. during my stay in the staging area, a group of young techs/orderlies was having loud, disrespectful conversations. One of the gals trashed my surgeon and basically said she was going to sabotage the next cases she had to do with him. i got the impression her work didnt meet his standards.
i felt that i needed to report this. this little group of nitwits put a black mark on an otherwise impressive experience and wonderful, compassionate care. the hospital rep agreed and assured me that she would be informing their supervisor.
the work they do could be done by robots and i think that’s a great idea! staffing expenses are huge and drive up the cost of hospital care. save the payroll for skilled professionals and use robots for deliveries, cleaning, even orderlies. despite the headline, i don’t think they are promoting robot nurses.