A Hastings-on-Hudson nursing home is using a robot to help reduce person-to-person contact and keep patients safe during the crisis.

At Andrus on Hudson doctors now have a helper -- a robot. The robot can talk to patients and help listen to a heart beat or take blood pressure.

James Roseman, CEO of Andrus on Hudson, says it's helping to reduce person-to-person exposure to COVID-19.

"We're limiting the amount of interactions, which not only is good for infection control, but also reduces our use of personal protective equipment," says Roseman.

Roseman says the facility had plans to make changes and now more than ever safety is at the forefront. 

Architect Myles Brown, with Amenta Emma Architects, says a big safety feature in his design will be something called negative pressure rooms.

"The air in the room actually has a slightly negative draw to it so it doesn't flow out into the other parts of the building so that somebody can be isolated into a room and and if they have the flu or a coronavirus, those pathogens do not leak out of that space," says Brown.

The facility also plans to replace highly touched surfaces with copper because research has shown that bacteria and viruses don't live as long on copper. Touchless doors and faucets will also be added.

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