BURT stands for Big Ugly Robotic Technician and owes his name to Dale Johnson, the winner of the "Name the Robot" contest. The Pharmacy would like to thank each of you who submitted a name for the robot. A committee was selected to view the entries and after great deliberation a decision was made in late April. 

 BURT is the newest member of Baptist Regional Medical Center's Pharmacy Department. This mechanical marvel is a centralized robotic drug distribution system. The robot stands 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide, and has a robotic arm that can fill a tray containing 10 medications in less than 30 seconds. It is programmed to retrieve medications and deposit them into patient specific cassettes.

A special bar code is used to distinguish one medication from another and up to 10,000 doses per day can be picked. The bar code contains med~ication specific information such as generic/brand name, expiration date and lot number.

The benefits of using the automated machine are: reduced manual tasks, reduced medication dispensing errors, improved inventory management, and centralized pharmacy distribution services. BURT can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The system is recognized in the healthcare industry for its accuracy in the prevention of medication errors.

Please feel free to schedule an individual visit or group field trip, to see the pharmacy's newest member in action at 528-1212, extension 8545.

Diabetes Smart

BRMC Diabetes Education Program Merits ADA Recognition

The Diabetes Smart program at BRMC has been awarded continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association. The ADA Education Recognition effort, begun in the fall of 1986, is a voluntary process which assures that approved education programs have met the National Standard for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs. Programs that achieve recognition status have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide information about diabetes management for participants.

Self management education is an essential component of diabetes treatment. One requirement of compliance with the National Standards is the greater consistency in the quality and quantity of education offered to people with diabetes. The participant in an ADA Recognized program will be taught, as needed, self-care skills that will promote better management of his or her diabetes treatment regimen. All approved education programs cover the following topics as needed: diabetes overview; stress and psychosocial adjustment; family involvement and social support; nutrition; exercise and activity; medications; monitoring and use of results; relationships among nutrition, exercise, medication, and blood glucose levels; prevention, detection, and treatment of acute and chronic complications; foot, skin and dental care; behavior change strategies, goal setting, risk factor reduction, and problem solving; benefits, risks and management options for improving glucose control; and use of healthcare systems and community resources.

Diabetes Smart is offered every other Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Baptist Family Fitness in Corbin. The members of the Diabetes Smart team consist of a registered nurse, pharmacist, dietician, exercise specialist and a Behavioral Health therapist. Assuring high-quality education for patient self-care is one of the primary goals of the program. Through the support of the healthcare team and increased knowledge and awareness of diabetes, the patient can assume a major part of the responsibility for his/her diabetes management. Unnecessary hospital admissions and some of the acute and chronic complications of diabetes may be prevented through self-management education. A Diabetes Support Group meets the second Monday of every month at 7 p.m. at Baptist Family Fitness. Different speakers are featured each month. Contact Linda Mills, RN, at 523-8549 for more information.

The American Diabetes Association recognizes this education service as meeting the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education.

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