Two Angelina County Kids Get to Name Robots at Local Hospital

When it comes to state-of-the-art surgery at an East Texas hospital, two local primary school students will be thought of quite frequently.

Recently, Woodland Heights Medical Center in Lufkin announced the addition of a second robotic surgical system. The facility has had a robotic system since 2012 and the second is a needed resource for the surgery department.

“Our main goal will always be to offer quality healthcare to our patients,” states Drew Emery, CEO of Woodland Heights. “Adding a second system will assure that our surgeons have the equipment they need for surgery cases while improving efficiency in the operating room.”

The robotic systems provide surgeons with unparalleled precision, dexterity and control that enable a minimally invasive approach for many complex surgical procedures, including gynecology, general surgery and urology.

With the addition, Woodland Heights decided to reach out to some of the local primary schools to see if their students would help name these two robots. The hospital awarded two winners from all of the name suggestions. The winners were Allison Wethington with the name of 'Botty' and Amir Parks with the name of 'Bender'.

“We enjoyed seeing all of the name suggestions come in,” states Emery. “There are some creative kids in Angelina County and we are pleased that they were so excited to participate.”

The winners were awarded a robot of their own as well as getting to “meet” their robots.

CEO Drew Emery along with Surgical Services Director Mark Hobbs awards Amir Parks (along with his mom and brother) for his name suggestion of Bender. (photo credit/WHMC)

Pictured: CEO Drew Emery awards Allison Wethington for her name suggestion of Botty.