A voice command and control medical care system is provided which comprises a processor having a continuous speech recognition capability. The processor is programmed to process a user's conversational speech to identify valid commands therein and to generate control signals for operating medical equipment such as surgical tools in accordance with the commands. The processor is programmed to generate audio messages reporting status information when requested, and to generate confirmation messages and await acknowledgement before executing a command. The system is configurable to interface with and control via voice activation essentially any piece of medical equipment having instruments and control switches that can be controlled via electrical or electromagnetic signals.