Mountain View Preparatory Names Verde Valley Medical Center’s Highly Advanced Surgical Robot

The Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) Orthopedic & Spine Institute recently challenged students at elementary schools in the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District to put their creative hats on and assist in naming Verde Valley Medical Center’s (VVMC) Surgical Robot.  The winning name was unveiled at a robot naming party at VVMC on Thursday, December 2.  

The Orthopedic & Spine Institute committee picked the winning name out of the many student submissions. “Stich” was revealed as the winning name, and the name was officially placed on the robot at the December 2 event. A third-grade class from Mountain View Preparatory created the winning name and got to enjoy a day at VVMC. The students who attended the event were able to test out the robot, enjoyed their winning pizza party, and left with teddy bears from the Orthopedic and Spine Institute. 

“The students were so creative in coming up with a great name for this exciting technological advancement,” said Matt Kraemer, orthopedic service line administrator for NAH. “It is such a great thing when students can get involved with the local healthcare community, and I know that they had a blast taking turns controlling Stich this past Thursday.” 

Verde Valley Medical Center recently added the Stryker’s Mako robot to assist in surgery for knee, partial knee, and total hip replacement. This highly advanced robotic technology transforms the way joint replacement surgery is performed, enabling surgeons to have a more predictable surgical experience with increased accuracy. The robotic-arm allows for quicker surgery, quicker recovery, and all-around getting the patient back to their normal lives sooner. Flagstaff Medical Center also robotic-assisted surgery with Stryker’s Mako System.