Robot technology is allowing residents at Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge to access healthcare without leaving their home. 

A collaboration with the University of Alberta’s robotics team and the Evergreens Foundation has welcomed a new “resident” into Jasper’s seniors home and long-term-care facility. 

Unlike the majority of residents at Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge, the new arrival is not a community elder, and by no means are they retired; however, they share with current lodgers an appetite for learning, surprising mobility, and an adeptness at puzzle solving.

The new resident is a robot named “Sammy.” 

Sammy is a “temi” robot, a video-oriented, interactive, personal assistant which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make video calls, control smart home devices and more. In the case of Alpine Summit residents, Sammy will help facilitate physiotherapy appointments that would normally take place outside of Jasper.

“It’s providing equal access to quality care in the place people live,” said Rylee Waugh, the Health and Wellness Coordinator at Hinton’s Pine Valley Lodge (also an Evergreens Foundation facility). “Not to mention it saves a whole day of travel and expenses.”

The flagship program that the robot will be used for is Tele-Rehab 2.0, a project which aims to make rehabilitation services more accessible to people who live in rural communities. Mediating communication between remote patients and urban specialists, and utilizing its technology to move with, and around, the patient, Sammy can help gather critical information about what might be ailing residents so they can get thorough, accurate diagnoses and have their conditions treated effectively. It’s a huge improvement over relying on stationary cameras for communication between clinicians and their patients, according to Waugh.

“The robot can meet a resident where they’re at,” Waugh said. “Whether they’re in their room,  using a wheelchair, or using a walker or a cane.”

Residents at Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge have yet to start the Tele-Rehab, but longtime Jasperite Olga Dowling said she’s intrigued by Sammy and is open to trying out the technology.

“So far we’ve only used him to play some tunes for our exercises,” Dowling laughed. 

Soon, however, Sammy will be able to provide services for hip, knee and shoulder pain, back problems and assess residents for risks of falling. Waugh says the fact that residents will be working with trusted local staff will help make their appointments all the smoother.

“There’s just less worry, less anxiety when you already trust your wellness coordinator,” Waugh said.

Sammy is currently only available for residents of Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge. 

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com