St. Francis Health Services Showcases New Technology, Welcomes State Senators

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Jessica Lacher

LeadingAge Minnesota member St. Francis Health Services had a busy and exciting week filled with innovation and advocacy. Heritage Manor Healthcare Center in Chisholm made headlines in the Mesabi Tribune for hosting a public event that introduced two new additions to its programming: Pepper, an interactive humanoid robot, and Mobii, a state-of-the-art projection system.

Integrating Technology

Guests at the event were treated to live demonstrations and hands-on opportunities to explore how the technology will be used in daily programming. Pepper is designed to engage and entertain residents by singing, reading stories, leading brain teasers and exercise sessions, or operating in autonomous mode to answer questions—similar to voice assistants like Alexa and Siri, according to Autumn Herzog, grant coordinator for St. Francis Health Services.

Welcoming State Senators

Elsewhere in the state, two other care centers welcomed their respective state senators for in-person visits. Sen. Bill Lieske visited Farmington Health Services, and Sen. Jordan Rasmussen stopped by Browns Valley Health Center. Both took time to speak with residents and staff, listening to their experiences and discussing the challenges facing long-term care funding in Minnesota.

St. Francis Health Services is grateful for the opportunity to share its innovative work and to connect directly with policymakers on issues that matter to its community.

Thank you to the team at St. Francis Health Services for your continued advocacy work post session!