The Shadow
FAIRLEA, WV (VR) – On Monday, July 20, in the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center cafeteria, numerous employees, elected officials, media, students, and staff members gathered for the unveiling of the new surgical robot that will help guide doctors through surgeries even more effectively.
Becky Harless, Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer, spoke at the podium and stressed just how important and how ideal the robot will make the hospital move forward and give patients confidence when needing surgery at CAMC Greenbrier Valley.
“The robot is crucial for our patients, for the future of healthcare, and in our community,” Harless said.
“If you’ve been around me for very long, you know I get really excited when we can move our hospital forward and this one has been especially meaningful to me because I’ve been working on it for about three years.”
Through every step of the journey in getting the robot available, Harless said everyone asked one simple question: Will this make healthcare better for the people who call the Greenbrier Valley home?
“The answer is always yes,” Harless stated.
One misconception about the robot is that it will perform a patient’s surgery by itself, but that is not the case. The doctors still have to monitor and physically use it with their own hands for it to work and be successful.
“Every movement the robot makes is directed by a highly trained surgeon,” Harless said.
For patients to feel more at ease, according to Harless, the robot’s help will provide smaller incisions, less pain, shorter stays, quicker recoveries, and getting back to full health quicker.
Although Greenbrier Valley Medical Center has faced some serious challenges and difficult decisions recently, there is reason to be hopeful with this new technology.
“What I’ve learned,” Harless began, “is that fortunately, positivity is contagious. Hope is contagious. Vision is contagious. Momentum is contagious. When people begin to believe that good things are happening, good things begin to happen, and I can honestly tell you, the upward wind at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center is palpable. We are building something this community can be proud of. It doesn’t happen overnight,” Harless concluded.
One of the leaders of the new and improved surgical program, Dr. Jefferson Casto–a general surgeon at the hospital–spoke to the crowd and to WVDN after the event.
“The robot is a new way to do old surgery for us,” Casto said.
“It’s a laparoscopic approach, which we’ve used for many years, but it’s a more sophisticated approach and that’s near certain it will turn into a safer approach.”
Casto also believes this type of technology is the ultimate future of surgery.
“I do,” he said when asked if he believed it was here to stay.
“I think this iteration is the latest and greatest. This type of surgery will stick around,” he stated.
The unveiling concluded with delegate Jeff Campbell and Greenbrier East student Hydee Wykle trying out the robot to try and sew up the large teddy bear that was under the light. Both had fun with the experiment, and the feeling was that the surgical robot will be a big technological advancement for the hospital.
For more pictures of the event, please go to The West Virginia Daily News Facebook page.
