Robotic Carts Help Scripps Hospital Deliver Meals
Robotic support frees staff to spend more time with patients
Robotic support frees staff to spend more time with patients
The Food and Nutrition Services team at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla feeds hundreds of hungry patients every day. But they don’t do it alone. Behind the scenes, working alongside this expert team of humans, is a unique set of assistants eager to lend a different kind of hand.
For the past several years, the food and nutrition services team has been working with high-tech robotic delivery carts known as TUG devices, or TUGs. The hospital’s 10 TUGs help carry and transport meal trays around the hospital.
These robotic carts are pre-programmed to travel hallways and use elevators on their own, though they’re always monitored by staff members using iPads. When a TUG arrives at its drop-off destination, staff members meet it in the elevator lobby, then deliver the food to patients.
Though TUGs are a valuable addition to the team, they wait in the wings while deliveries are being made, meaning patients only interact with human staff members, says Adele Barrack, director of food and nutrition services.
“Our work is a mix of hands, head and heart,” she says. “The TUGs are great at offering helping hands. They run on algorithms, so there’s some ‘head’ there. But the computers can’t generate anything from the heart. That’s what our staff is for. Something as small as making eye contact with or smiling at a patient or family can make a huge impact. TUGs allow my staff to focus even more on the ‘heart’ aspects of their work.”
Why Scripps adopted robotic meal delivery
Scripps first started exploring more efficient ways to deliver food a decade ago. At the time, Barrack says, the distance from the kitchen to the elevators leading to patients’ rooms was over two football fields. And the food carts were heavy — up to 300 pounds. Plus, one of the hallways had a slight incline. “We always had carts coming and going. Some of our staff were walking up to 13 miles a day,” she says.
The TUGs that Scripps ultimately brought in to solve these problems were designed specifically for hospital use. Their latest iteration — which just came to Scripps this year — has replaced the TUG’s wheels with omnidirectional technology that allows for better movement side to side and has sensors all the way around the devices. “Now they can easily slide out of the way without having to do a 10-point turn,” Barrack says with a laugh.
Improving staff workflows, patient experience
The TUGs were an immediate hit, and the staff continue to find new uses for them, like sending out an extra applesauce delivery when a nurse realizes their floor’s supply is running low.
While the TUGs do most of their work behind the scenes, when the public does get a peek, they always smile.
“I haven’t met a family member or a patient who doesn’t get their phone out to snap a picture,” Barrack says.
“For Scripps to devote the resources necessary to bring the TUGs to our department shows how much they support and value the work we do,” Barrack continues. “More than that, it shows patients how committed Scripps is to improving every aspect of patient care.”
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.