A robotic nurse is helping ease anxiety and stress for children in a Saskatchewan hospital.
Nurse Mason is a robotic nurse that was created to calm children while they are in care. The robot explains medical procedures to children in a way that is easy for them to understand. He can also speak in 20 languages, teach breathing techniques, sing and dance.
"We find that when kids have something that they look forward too, coming to the hospital is a lot less stressful for them and they actually heal faster, said Tammy Lucas of the Saskatchewan Health Authority. “It's also proven that when kids cope better with treatments, we are able to use less sedation, less pain control things like that."
The robot was donated to Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital by seven-year-old Mason Gariepy who died of acute myo leukemia in November of 2017. Mason used his wish from the ‘Make a Wish Foundation’ to donate the robot to the hospital.
"He hated when he heard other kids cry,” said Gale Gariepy, Mason's mom. “He just wanted to put a smile on their face, he just wanted them to be happy, give them a hug and just do everything he could."
Gariepy said her son wanted to be an acute pediatric nurse so this donation is a way to keep his memory alive.
“The best thing we can do is helping the kids he wanted to help and if it puts a smile on their face instead of tears running down their eyes then that's our goal.”
