14 Robots Were Supposed to Help Nurses. The Experiment Failed—Now They're Eliminated
- A Tacoma, Wash.-based healthcare system invested in 14 Moxi robot units to be used across area hospitals.
- By 2025, the Moxi program was suspended.
- Nurses said the robots were 'annoying,' 'got in the way,' and hospital admin said they didn't make sense from a financial perspective.
When MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Washington, introduced Moxi robots in 2023, the healthcare community watched with interest.
These 5-foot, 300-pound robots with blinking blue eyes that turned heart-shaped when interacting with people were designed to revolutionize workflow by delivering supplies and transporting lab samples, theoretically freeing up nurses and other healthcare staff to do other, more important tasks.
However, by early 2025, the Tacoma hospital system had pulled the plug on the robots. What happened? And what does the program's failure say about the future of tech automation in healthcare?
More Hassle Than Help
At their peak in 2023, 14 Moxi robots were buzzing around MultiCare’s hospitals in Washington.
But instead of making life easier, these 300-pound robots became more of a tripping hazard than a helping hand. Nurses reported that Moxi were "annoying," often "got in the way," and required extra human support to move between floors.
Moxi Didn't Save Money
The financials didn’t add up either. MultiCare’s media rep, Scott Thompson, shared that the program wasn’t sustainable because the cost didn’t match the robots’ usage.
After investing in 14 robots, the output benefit of the machines simply did not provide anywhere near the value they cost to run. In fact, nurses reported that the Moxi units did not come close to delivering on the load-ligthening benefits they were claimed to have.
The Human Touch Still Wins
Despite the hype, robots like Moxi remind us of one thing: there’s no substitute for nurses. While MultiCare said goodbye to Moxi, they doubled down on their most valuable resource: staff.
In 2026, nurses at Tacoma General and Mary Bridge got new contracts with an average 15.46% wage increase over three years. The Washington State Nurses Association summed it up perfectly in a statement about Moxi being discontinued:
“Nurses are, and will always be, MultiCare’s most critical resource.”
Despite the reassurance, Moxi's creators don't see the robotic termination as a failure, noting that the program was an important part of learning how to make tech automation helpful in healthcare.
And the company behind Moxi overall is still going strong, with claims of saving staff in other hospital systems hundreds of thousands of hours. Diligent Robotics (Moxi's creator) was acquired by Serve Robotics in January 2026 and offers the following stats that detail how Moxi can be helpful to some facilities:
- Nearly 100 Moxi robots currently operate across 25+ hospital facilities nationwide
- The robots have completed over 1.25 million tasks to date
- Some of the hospitals using Moxi include Northwestern Medicine, ChristianaCare, and Rochester General Hospital.
What’s Next for Nurse Aid Robots?
The Moxi experiment shows that while robots might assist with certain tasks, they can’t replace the human connection that’s central to nursing, and perhaps more important to some hospital admin, they don't yet always make sense from a financial perspective.
It also shows that before robots can be successfully deployed in a hospital setting, administration may want to consider a few key factors, such as:
- Implementation: Technology success depends heavily on seamless integration with existing workflows.
- Staff buy-in: Nursing acceptance and perceived value are essential for program success.
- ROI must be clear: Healthcare automation investments need demonstrable financial and operational benefits for staff.
- Infrastructure requirements: Facilities must be properly equipped to support robotic technology (e.g., elevator access).
🤔Nurses, share your thoughts about this below. Do you think a 'delivery' robot at your hospital would be a help or a hindrance?
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