Are Robots The Solution To Understaffed Nursing Homes?
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 24 May 2022
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if a robot could fix both?
A program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth is using automation technology to find out.
The notion of using robots in nursing homes also raises ethical issues about data, privacy, and the importance of human-to-human contact.
We talk with Dr. Khan and others about the intersection of technology and geriatric care.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Let me tell you a joke. |
| 0:09.6 | Why does cemeteries have walls? |
| 0:11.6 | Are your people are dying to get it? |
| 0:15.8 | That's Pepper, a robot specifically programmed for geriatric care at nursing homes. |
| 0:21.1 | Pepper can tell jokes, play games, and perform reminisce and therapy on dementia patients. |
| 0:26.5 | The pandemic has had a major impact on geriatric care, specifically nursing homes. |
| 0:31.5 | It's illuminated cracks in a system that's been broken for decades. |
| 0:35.6 | One major issue is inadequate staffing. |
| 0:38.7 | According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 420,000 nursing home employees left |
| 0:44.5 | their jobs since February 2020. |
| 0:47.9 | Now summer wondering if robots like Pepper could be the answer to staffing shortages while |
| 0:52.6 | increasing residence quality of life. |
| 0:55.2 | We'll get into that in more after the break. |
| 0:57.4 | I'm Jen White. |
| 0:58.4 | You're listening to the 1A podcast where we get to the heart of the story. |
| 1:02.5 | Remember to join future conversations. |
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