Canadian founders pitch tech solutions for long-term care challenges

Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau recalls a challenging time when her grandfather fell ill.

“My dad was driving two hours a day to check up on him,” she said. “So we started looking into senior communities.”

When they found him a new home at a seniors living facility, they believed he would enjoy a new experience, make new friends and have fun.

“Sadly, a few months later, he passed away from social isolation,” said Audette-Bourdeau. “It was heartbreaking.”

Audette-Bourdeau is now the CEO of Welbi, a company she founded to improve the lives of other long-term care residents. Welbi’s platform allows facilities to develop personalized enrichment programs and reduce social isolation. The software gathers resident profiles and preferences to suggest specific activities that can improve engagement and connection.

“We want this data to be used so we can help our loved ones have a personalized experience and enjoy community living,” she said.

Audette-Bourdeau was one of nine founders selected to pitch their solutions at the Communitech Fast Track Health showcase event on Thursday. The event explored strategies for improving the quality of life for both residents and operators in Canada’s long-term care homes.

The Communitech Fast Track Health team worked in partnership with The CAN Health Long-Term Care Innovation and Scaling Network, powered by Bruyère, to address top priorities for long-term care homes by scaling Canadian-made technology solutions. Blake Daly, Health Innovation Lead at Bruyère, opened the hybrid showcase with insights around the importance of growing the Canadian healthtech sector and positioning the country as a global leader in this field.

“Canada has over 2,000 long-term care homes across the country. How many of them are working together to solve healthtech challenges? That’s something we want to change,” said Daly.

Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Ontario’s Minister of Long-Term Care, addressed attendees virtually, describing the showcase event as a testament to the passion and dedication of everyone involved in the province’s long-term care sector.

“As a government, we recognize the vital role technology and innovation play in transforming and reimagining our health-care systems,” she said. “We’re committed to investing in modern solutions that not only improve care but empower providers and enrich the lives of residents.”

Canadian long-term care homes face several challenges, and the following were highlighted as key areas for solutions during the pitch showcase:

• Ongoing staffing shortages
• Reducing and preventing resident falls
• Improving resident quality of life and recreational programs
• Reducing, preventing and treating resident pressure injuries
• Supporting residents living with dementia

The event featured technologies designed to address these challenges, with pitches from the following Canadian companies:

• Bodiometer improves patient outcomes through AI-driven posture and movement measurements by enabling clinicians to analyze patients’ posture in real-time, log their pain and function and track their progress remotely.
• ElephasCare is an AI-powered platform that monitors resident Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) in long-term care without cameras or wearables, enabling proactive care that allows homes to take steps to prevent falls and other conditions that lead to falls, emergency department visits or hospital readmissions.
• Esprit AI acts as an invisible caregiver, silently observing and protecting vulnerable seniors without wearables and cameras, helping them live longer, healthier and safer lives, and giving family members peace of mind that their loved ones are safe and well-protected.
• Karer is an AI-driven, paperless healthcare workforce platform that connects facilities with qualified professionals in real time by using a mobile-based solution to enhance staffing and match professionals with their preferred schedules.
• NanoTess is an advanced wound care treatment matrix gel, proven to significantly improve healing outcomes and reduce wound care costs.
• Rehabtronics’ Prelivia technology is the world’s first early intervention for pressure injuries. Prelivia directly addresses the ischemic injury mechanism to pressure injury development. By increasing blood circulation and tissue oxygenation, it reduces tissue ischemic injury damage by 80 per cent.
• Tochtech is an award-winning digital health tech company empowering health care providers to improve safety, wellness and staff efficiency through AI-powered smart care products.
• Welbi Technologies enables senior living communities to provide personalized resident experiences at scale by saving life enrichment professionals over 25 hours of work per month and giving them actionable insights to better engage residents. 
• Xandar Kardian provides advanced radar sensor technology for health care with its FDA-cleared contact-free XK300 sensor that monitors vital signs and body motion continuously, enabling proactive care.

The pitches were reviewed by an expert panel of industry leaders, including Jonathan Sachs, Director of Government Affairs at PointClickCare; Blake Daly, Health Innovation Lead at Bruyère; Joel Semeniuk, Chief Strategy Officer at Communitech; Lora Bruyn-Martin, Director of Innovation, Improvement and Research at Schlegel Villages; and Lency Abraham, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Analytics for Senior’s Health at SE Health.

While each founder presented a unique solution for a particular challenge, they all shared a common goal: using the power of technology to improve the quality of life for long-term care residents and the staff who support them.

“We can help be proactive instead of being reactive,” said Audette-Bourdeau. “This is where the magic happens.”