Collaboration led by CAN Health Network explores Canadian platform modernizing call bell systems.
January 9, 2025 (Owen Sound, ON) – A new platform launching at two Ontario hospitals stands to modernize the traditional call bell system by prioritizing the urgency of patients’ requests and, in turn, supporting nurses to deliver more responsive and personalized care.
Call bell, or call button, systems are communication tools that allow patients to request assistance from nursing teams. While essential for ensuring patient safety and care, traditional systems do not differentiate the urgency of requests, meaning a patient requiring immediate help may face delays while non-urgent needs are addressed first.
To help address these challenges, Grand River Hospital and Brightshores Health System are partnering with PatientCompanion, a Canadian company, to bring a more informed and, more efficient approach to patient care. This partnership is being supported by the Coordinated Accessible National (CAN) Health Network, a federally-funded organization that works directly with the country’s leading healthcare operators to identify their biggest challenges, and match them with Canadian-made technology solutions.
Developed in Waterloo, Ontario, PatientCompanion enables patients to specify their need.
By prioritizing patient requests and providing nurses with proactive insights, PatientCompanion helps reduce response times for urgent care needs to improve patient outcomes. The platform improves nursing workflows by decreasing unnecessary steps, empowering staff to deliver care more efficiently and effectively. This allows nurses to allocate their time and resources more effectively.
Grand River Hospital, a large community hospital serving Waterloo-Wellington and beyond, will assess the platform’s impact on patients in their Childbirth Unit.
Operating six hospitals across Grey and Bruce Counties, Brightshores will deploy PatientCompanion within its Women and Child Care Unit (WCCU) at the Owen Sound site to support postpartum and pediatric patients and at the Wiarton site within the inpatient units to address the needs of older adults.
-30-
Quotes
“At Grand River Hospital, we are deeply committed to fostering innovation and partnering with local innovators to improve patient care. Collaborating with PatientCompanion, a company that has grown through the Velocity program at the University of Waterloo, allows us to test cutting-edge solutions that could transform how care is delivered. This project exemplifies our Hospitals’ ongoing commitment to leverage local expertise by piloting innovations that address real-world challenges in healthcare. With our merger with St. Mary’s General Hospital on the horizon, we’re excited about the potential to seamlessly scale successful innovations, such as PatientCompanion, across both organizations, enhancing care for the communities we serve.”
- Carla Girolametto, Integrated Director of Innovation and Research at Grand River and St. Mary’s General Hospital
“Our Unit welcomes between 400 to 425 babies monthly, serving a wonderfully diverse population, including many patients who face language barriers. Exploring PatientCompanion’s platform is an exciting opportunity to modernize how we respond to patient needs. By enabling patients to communicate their specific requests more effectively, this solution empowers our team to provide timely, personalized care — something that’s critical for both new parents and newborns. We’re thrilled to be at the forefront of this transformative initiative.”
- Kim Moran, Clinical Manager of the Childbirth Unit, Grand River Hospital
“As CAN Health’s newest rural Edge member, Brightshores is proud to bring our commitment to leading rural health care and ensuring our communities receive the highest quality care. We know that supporting nurses to do their best work is key to achieving this, and we are focused on providing them with the tools and resources they need to deliver exceptional care to patients. This new initiative has the potential to significantly improve how we respond to patient needs, and we look forward to sharing our learnings with other hospitals to help enhance care for patients everywhere.”
- Ann Ford, President & CEO of Brightshores Health System
“The CAN Health Network is thrilled to see two organizations coming together to address current challenges with Canadian innovation,” “We look forward to seeing the results of this collaboration, and how PatientCompanion can elevate the care experience for providers and patients.”
- Dante Morra, Founder and Chair, CAN Health Network
“The CAN Health Network continues to help bring new Canadian health care innovations to market. The partnership between Grand River Hospital, Brightshores Health System and PatientCompanion is the latest example of that great work. This project is going to reduce response times for urgent care patients, enhance patient care and improve nursing productivity by decreasing unnecessary steps, empowering staff to deliver care more efficiently and effectively. Congratulations on the partnership.”
- Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business
“We are very excited about this collaboration with the CAN Health Network, Grand River and Brightshores. This is a great opportunity to drive meaningful change in health care delivery, and bring our platforms to more patients across the province.”
- Christy Lee, Co-Founder, PatientCompanion
ABOUT PATIENTCOMPANION
PatientCompanion is a Canadian healthcare technology company dedicated to improving the work experience for nurses while enhancing patient care. Their platform streamlines communication between patients and healthcare providers, enabling nurses to prioritize and distribute requests more efficiently. Patients can easily make requests through intuitive icons or voice-to-text functionality, receive real-time updates, and communicate in their preferred language – reducing unnecessary interruptions. With a focus on simplicity, accessibility, and innovation, PatientCompanion is redefining the standard of care for both nurses and patients. For more information, visit patientcompanion.ca.
ABOUT GRAND RIVER HOSPITAL
Grand River Hospital is building a world-class health system for all in the communities we serve.
One of Ontario’s largest community teaching hospitals, we’re delivering exceptional, patient-focused quality care by a team of dedicated healthcare workers and volunteers. Located in one of the province’s most diverse and rapidly growing regions, we provide services and support to more than 840,000 residents of Waterloo Region and Guelph Wellington at our two campuses (KW and Freeport) and satellite locations. Driven by innovation, we’re proud of our partnerships and collaborations with health system partners, our region’s academic and innovation communities, and diverse community partners. grandriverhospital.ca | Twitter and Instagram: @grhospitalkw | YouTube: griverhosp | Facebook and Linkedin: Grand River Hospital
ABOUT BRIGHTSHORES HEALTH SYSTEM
Brightshores is a regional health system that operates six hospitals in one of the largest geographic regions in Ontario. Our dedicated team of more than 3,300 staff, physicians and volunteers serve a rural region that is home to 175,000 residents, thousands of seasonal residents and sees more two million annual short-stay visitors. We offer a full range of services across Grey and Bruce counties, including 24/7 emergency care at each hospital site. As a regional centre, we provide specialized care for cancer, stroke, kidney disease, and more, ensuring patients receive the expert treatment they need close to home. Our new Wellness & Recovery Centre is recognized provincially for its innovation and leadership in mental health and addiction care. Brightshores is committed to build healthier communities one patient at a time. Learn more at www.brightshores.ca.
ABOUT CAN HEALTH NETWORK
The CAN Health Network is a federally funded national organization working to introduce more Canadian innovation into Canada’s health system. The Network works with leading Canadian health care providers – referred to as Edges – to scale Canadian technology companies across Canada and beyond. By partnering Canadian companies directly with health care operators, CAN Health enables these companies and their solutions to be rapidly validated, procured and scaled across the Network.
Media Contact:
Alex Madill, Communications Specialist
ahmadill@brightshores.ca | 519-376-2121 ext. 2220