Sue Kiesewetter reports:
Will West Chester Hospital’s new surgical robot be known as Yolo Robot – You Only Live Once? Or how about Akisni – which means healed in the Lakota language? How about Vita, another word for life?
Those three plus seven other names were suggested by Lakota seventh graders who worked collaboratively – one name per participating classroom – to come up with a name for the da Vinci Si surgical robot.
The activity was one of the inaugural activities of the new partnership. The students are being introduced to the fields of robotics and healthcare through the newly introduced STEAM2 – Science, Technology, Engineering, Applied Arts, Mathematics and the Medical Field – program.
“Education is a key component of our healthcare mission. Getting kids involved and interested in the medical field is something we are passionate about because they will make up the next generation of doctors, nurses and medical engineers,” said Dr. Kevin Joseph, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer.
“Our da Vinci surgical robot is such an incredible piece of technology, we want to show students, teachers and parents first-hand how it can change the way we think of surgery and the delivery of healthcare.”
After coming up with the names, community members were allowed to vote through Friday on the Lakota website. The winning name will be announced at the hospital Saturday, Nov. 20, where students and their families from the top two names will be recognized. The new name will be unveiled as well.
The 10 names submitted by the seventh graders were:
- Akisni – Means healed in Lakota Indians language
- H.O.P.E. – Helping Others Perform Efficiently
- H.O.P.E. – Human Operated Precision Enhancement
- Leonardo – Named after the famous inventor, Leonardo da Vinci
- Miracolo – Italian for miracle
- S.A.M. – Surgical Assisting Mechanism
- STITCH – Surgical Tiny Incision Tremor Controlled Hand
- Surgeon Sara – Surgical Assistant Robotic Arms
- Vita – Means life
- YOLO Robo – You Only Live Once
“This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a very long and fruitful partnership with West Chester Hospital. Preparing students for tomorrow’s workforce is the most important thing we do,” said Superintendent Karen Mantia.
“Developing these kinds of partnerships with leading employers is a key part of that. Student learning is going to look very different in the future, with experiences like the ones this partnership offers becoming more common.”
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