About Aethon Aethon Inc., a leader in automating the hospital supply chain, announced that 10 more VA hospitals purchased TUG, the company’s award-winning autonomous mobile robotic system. The VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network is installing 21 TUGs in eight medical centers: Asheville, N.C.; Beckley, W.Va.; Durham, N.C.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Hampton, Va.; Richmond, Va.; Salem, Va; and Salisbury, N.C. In addition, the VA Boston Healthcare System’s Roxbury Campus, and the VA Healthcare System of Ohio’s Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Clinic in Columbus are each implementing three TUGs. By assigning pharmacy, laboratory and materials management tasks to the TUGs, these VA hospitals will free up nursing staff to spend more time with the people who need them most, veterans.
TUG, the first and only complete hospital asset utilization solution, eliminates a major bottleneck in the delivery of healthcare by roaming autonomously throughout hospitals, tracking and delivering goods and supplies from point-to-point without a person pushing a cart. The system requires no extra infrastructure investment, is simple to install and has many applications such as central supply, dietary, pharmacy, laboratory, medical records, nursing and linens. Many hospitals have deployed multiple TUGs to save time and money, while increasing staff and patient satisfaction and improving regulatory compliance.

“These ten VA hospitals join a growing number of veterans hospitals that are using TUG to transform basic supply chain operations, such as pharmacy, laboratory and materials management, from time-intensive human tasks into automated robotic functions,” said Aldo Zini, CEO of Aethon, Inc. “The hospitals can expect to increase the overall efficiency of their supply chain systems while simultaneously freeing up their nursing staff to concentrate on patient care.”

VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network is comprised of eight VA medical centers and 11 community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). Some 10,750 clinical and support staff members and approximately 4,000 volunteers in the network provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient health care to more than 300,500 veterans annually across North Carolina, most of Virginia and portions of West Virginia and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.visn6.va.gov.

The VA Boston Healthcare System encompasses nine campuses within a 40-mile radius of the greater Boston area. For more information, visit http://www.boston.va.gov.

Opened in February 1995 under the theme “Dedicated to Serve,” the Columbus VA Outpatient Clinic is an independent, affiliated state-of-the-art ambulatory healthcare facility. The clinic serves well over 25,000 veterans and is a clinic of jurisdiction for fee services, serving 56 Central Ohio counties and one county in Indiana. For more information, visit http://www.columbus.va.gov. 

About Aethon
Based in Pittsburgh, Pa., Aethon is a leader in affordable autonomous mobile robots for practical business applications. In healthcare, the company’s automated technology platform is redefining hospital supply chain logistics by automating the location, delivery and recovery of key assets. The net result of Aethon’s low-cost, easy-to-install RFID-based asset utilization solution is improved caregiver efficiency and satisfaction, increased asset utilization, decreased equipment rentals, increased patient safety and satisfaction, and improved regulatory compliance. More than 100 hospitals nationwide have deployed Aethon’s robots. Aethon is a privately held, venture-backed company. It has raised $22.5 million from Innovation Works, Draper Triangle Ventures, Salix Ventures, Ascension Health Ventures and Pacific Venture Group, among others. For more information, visit http://www.aethon.com.

Contact
Peter Seiff
Aethon
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Bonnie Anderson
Schwartz Communications
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