50+ Lifestyles

The Future of Health Care May Be Robotic

By Anne Coffman
Marketing Director at Ridgecrest Village

According to the 2017 Census, by 2030 all Baby Boomers will be over 65 and will outnumber children for the first time in history. This no doubt will create a labor shortage in the healthcare field. One way that shortage may be eased is with the use of robots, yes robots.

Since their inception in the mid-1950s, robots have evolved into realistic and helpful tools. Robotics have made great strides and are already part of our everyday life. They help in manufacturing, doing jobs that people find are too dirty or too dangerous. In the medical field, they assist in health care with robotic surgery and medication management. They are even in many of our homes with robot vacuums and smart home devices.

Recently, senior living communities have begun to introduce mobile robots that help in a 24-hour health care setting. Although hesitant at the beginning, many staff have seen the positive effect of having robots to help. They help battle loneliness by connecting relatives and friends via video and even giving seniors someone to talk with. Robots are popular during happy hour as they can tell jokes, plays music and videos.

They do everything from helping with bingo to monitoring and alerting to a resident in distress. Having robots handle some of these tasks frees up staff to be able to help residents more.

Robot cats and dogs have become a popular way to offer seniors the companionship and feeling of a pet without the worry and expense of an actual pet. Residents who own these pets treat them as a real pet by petting, cuddling, and brushing them and in return the robotic pets move, purr, or bark. Some even have the feel of heartbeat for added comfort. We have several residents in Ridgecrest who love their robotic cats and spend a great deal of time with them.

Although the use of robots in the senior living and healthcare setting are still far from widespread, we can expect to see them more and more as a partner. Whether in large scale medical use or as simple as a robotic pet, robots are becoming commonplace in our culture, and we can expect to see more of them in the future in every setting.