The Jamestown Regional Medical Center has named their newest germ-zapping robot R.U.D.I. Photo: JRMC

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (JRMC) – Meet R.U.D.I, the newest germ-zapping robot in Jamestown.

R.U.D.I. and his “best friend” R.O.S.I.E. are twin Xenex LightStrike germ-zapping robots, designed to destroy hard-to-kill microscopic bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms.

Jamestown Regional Medical Center revealed the new robot’s name Friday, after a Name-The-Robot contest last month.

JRMC purchased R.U.D.I. at a historic time, said Dane Grebel, Environmental & Support Services manager. Grebel also serves as the hospital’s Emergency Manager.

“R.O.S.I.E. has cleaned rooms and even office spaces throughout this pandemic,” he said. “Before R.U.D.I, our teams used R.O.S.I.E. to more than 100% of her capacity, meaning we were deferring maintenance, just to keep her going.”

The second robot is a blessing, he said.

“Now that we have R.U.D.I., we can keep one robot upstairs in our patient care and Family BirthPlace units and one downstairs in the Emergency Department,” he said. “Since the Xenex LightStrike robots kill superbugs including COVID-19, this means JRMC has an added safety measure for both our patients and our teams. These robots are one of the many reasons JRMC is a destination for care in the region.”

Xenex LightStrike robots are 99.9% effective in enhancing environmental cleanliness by destroying hard-to-kill super-bugs like COVID-19.
JRMC received more than 300 name submissions. The general public voted to select the name R.U.D.I., which means “Robot Used to Destroy Infection.”

Dorrie Bergstrom as well as Dann Holm, from JRMC’s Plant Department, submitted the name. Holm said he said he chose R.U.D.I. because it and R.O.S.I.E. reminded him of the TV show, “The Jetsons.”

“It seemed like a good fit,” he said.

The community agreed. Of the six robot-name finalists, R.U.D.I. received 150 out of 328 votes.

In addition to the naming contest, JRMC also organized a coloring contest for children. More than 240 participated. Winners of that competition are first place, Kodi Graves; second place, Clara Seckerson; third place, Layla Anderson.

“We are proud of all the participants,” said Lisa Jackson, JRMC Foundation Director. “We hope they had a little fun during this challenging time. We’re also grateful to the community.”

Each robot costs about $100,000. A grant from the North Dakota Department of Commerce’s Economic Resiliency Grant helped pay for R.U.D.I. while the community raised money for R.O.S.I.E. as part of 2018’s Giving Hearts Day.

For more information on funding projects, contact JRMC Foundation at (701) 952-4880.