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Robots at St. Anthony’s Hospital help the nursing staff in big way

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It may feel futuristic to see robots rove around St. Anthony’s Hospital every day, but Beaker and Hygeia are more than just mechanical marvels — they serve an important function.

Nurse Manager Kristen Lefkimiotis says Beaker helps nurses in the ICU and on the dialysis floors by delivering specimens to the hospital lab. Hygeia is part of a pilot program and makes deliveries for the pharmacy.

What You Need To Know

  • Two robots, Beaker and Hygeia, help staff at BayCare’s St. Anthony’s Hospital

  • Beaker moves between the first-floor laboratory and the ICU, cardiovascular ICU and dialysis floors, making pickups and deliveries to the lab, and Hygeia goes to and from the pharmacy

  • St. Anthony’s Hospital is a 94-year-old facility and does not have a pneumatic tube systems on some floors
  • Prior to the robots, staff members would act as runners, sometimes making between 40 to 60 trips to the laboratory each day 

  • Beaker was funded by the St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation, which donated $119,000 for his purchase


The robots are made by Relay Robotics. 

Prior to Beaker’s arrival, nurses would have to do the deliveries themselves. For most, that would mean walking to an entirely different floor in the hospital. 

Lefkimiotis said it was a bit of a hassle.

“It can be a challenge,” she said. “We are, you know, a 90-year-old-plus hospital. We do have newer towers that have been built. Not every tower has a tube system. We don’t have a tube system in the ICU and dialysis, so this has really it’s been huge.”

When nurses need something delivered to the lab, they just summon Beaker. 

“It’s as easy as tap your badge, his lid opens, drop in your sample, and off he will go,” Lefkimiotis said.

While running to the lab to make a delivery seems like a small task, Lefkimiotis said it has a big impact on the nurses’ day — sometimes they would make that trip between 40 to 60 times each day. 

“Adding this type of technology helps our care teams. It cuts down on the miles they have to travel on foot,” said Craig Anderson, vice president of Innovation at BayCare’s St. Anthony’s Hospital. “This year alone, we’ve saved over 1,100 miles between the two robots — and that equals thousands of hours of nursing time that they can spend with their patients.” 

Less time making deliveries means more time with patients and better care, health care providers say. 

Anderson said Beaker and Hygeia may just be the beginning for BayCare Hospitals. 

“There could be more robots where it makes sense, where it drives value for our teams, for baby care,” Anderson said. “That’s where we want to deploy the technology. And that’s a focus for everything we do in innovation, is make sure we’re putting the technology in the right places.”

St. Anthony’s Hospital was able to purchase Beaker — who cost $119,000 — thanks to a donation from the St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation.

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Erin Murray

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