b'ROBOTS IN CAREThe robot parade. Photo courtesy of Trinity VillageRobots offer socialTrinity and GlobalDWS worked closely to ensure the robots would be engagement and data physically accessible to all residents and outfitted with intuitive, user-friendly touchscreen displays. We appreciated the fact we could co-An innovative program implemented atdesign the robots with GlobalDWS Trinity Village has benefits for residents,because nothing like this had really been done in Ontario, and we were families and staff essentially starting from scratch,says Riepert. M eet the newest additions toWe see the robots as 24-hourOnce the robots overall design Trinity Village Care Centre:activities, Riepert explains. Theyrewas decided, the next step was Robbie, Sue, Madonna, Rosie,not here to replace staff because determining where the robots would Mary-Lou and Buzz. They arent newthey cant. Theyre here as toolslive within the home. Several factors staff or residents, but robots adoptedthat allow us to work smarter whilehad to be weighed, such as whether by the Kitchener long-term care providing a fun learning experiencea home area had the infrastructure home to spark social engagement for our residents.to support robots (such as electricity and support. demands and WiFi strength) and Bringing service robots into a long- where they would make the most Five of the robots are socialterm care home is a unique initiativeimpact. A decision was made to post engagement robots, with eachin Ontario. For Trinity Village, theone robot at the main reception area assigned to one of Trinity Villagesidea was sparked in 2023 whenand embed a social engagement five home areas. The sixth, Buzz,representatives of the home attendedrobot in each home area at a central is stationed at the entrance as aa conference and saw a robot modellocation by the nursing station where friendly and informative visitorin action. Later, when the financialstaff, residents and visitors could easily access them. greeter. Collectively, the robots havemeans became available, Trinity become valuable tools for enhancingVillage sourced a robotics partnerDeciding on applications resident experiences and advancingthat could bring this innovativeOne of the first robot implementation the homes monitoring, tracking andtechnology into their long-term caremilestones was to define the main communication practices, says Debbycommunity. That search led theapplication modules. A course of Riepert, Chief Operating Officer ofteam to GlobalDWS, a Toronto-basedregular meetings led by program Trinity Village. technology solutions provider.manager Maria Menounos and 12 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2024'