The miracle of life is taking on new meaning at one Western Slope Hospital.
Nurses and EMT's are using a new simulator to practice delivering babies
and as 11 News Reporter Jessica Zartler explains, it may help save lives.

Nurses deliver dozens of babies a day at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, but this is no ordinary delivery.

"Just keep breathing Noelle," a nurse coaches the delivering mom.

But this mom is a robot, a baby delivering machine, literally.

"We can take her vital signs, change her EKG's, she makes breathing sounds, heart sounds and she talks," Nurse Carol Bagen told 11 News on Tuesday.

"Please help—the baby is coming!" the simulator said in a robotic voice.

Valley View says it's the first hospital in Colorado to get the new "Noelle."

"We're really excited about having the system," said Nurse Bagen.

She says the days of the CPR dummy are gone and this simulator is the closest thing to the real thing she's seen in almost 30 years of nursing.

And "Noelle's" baby–bot has his own mission.

"The baby needed oxygen to turn pink in today's simulation but we can program him to get worse, which can happen in emergency situations."

Nurse Bagen says the hospital paid about $37,000 for the anamatronic mommy using grant money but she says the training nurses and EMT's get is priceless.

"It's saving lives. They've [the nurses in training] had to sit through practice procedures with 'Noelle' and were able to save lives based on the training they learned," said Nurse Bagen.