OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. —

Robots are making their way to hospitals across the country. OrlandoHealth in Saint Cloud recently got their first one.

Physicians are able to pop up on the robot’s screen then maneuver themselves or be manually pushed to a patient’s bedside to assess and/or diagnose them.

“This is a game changing technology that has been accelerated by the pandemic,” Critical Care Physician, Dr. Adam Evans, said.

Critical Care Physician based out of South Florida, Dr. Adam Evans, is one of the doctors who works through the robot at this hospital and many others.

He says it allows him to see patients anywhere in the hospital at ANY time from wherever he is.

Something especially helpful for hospitals having difficulty staffing.

“With this current COVID surge, hospitals are completely overwhelmed right now. Staff, as we know, are exhausted and tired, burned out, some are getting sick,” Evans said.

At OrlandoHealth, Saint Cloud, they’ve named the robot “Eddie”.

Instead of calling a physician and waiting for a call back for direction, nurses are having Eddie step in.

“They can do a detailed assessment. A head-to-toe assessment. The camera is very precise, it can look at pupillary reflexes to check neurological status. It can beam in on the ventilator and look at settings and make sure they’re appropriate and make sure we’re moving in the right direction for the patient,” Nurse Operations Manager in the Intensive Care Unite, Elise Ortiz, said.

We’re told Eddie can also check heart rate using a Bluetooth stethoscope.

A sign that technology is changing the way of healthcare.