Hospitals face ongoing challenges in ensuring patient safety while maintaining operational efficiency, particularly when caring for individuals with responsive behaviours, wandering, or acute behavioral changes. One-to-one sitters have traditionally been used to manage these risks, but this approach is increasingly unsustainable. It places significant strain on staffing and financial resources without consistently improving patient outcomes. Often, sitters provide a perceived sense of security without addressing the underlying causes of patient harm.
At St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, the need for safe, continuous observation of patients with responsive behaviours has become increasingly urgent. Many of these patients are waiting over six months for transfer to behavioural health units, creating prolonged care challenges. Due to limited nurse-to-patient ratios (1:4 during the day, 1:6 at night), the hospital has relied heavily on agency PSWs for sitter coverage. This has resulted in significant budget overruns and increased pressure on already stretched staff. The overuse of sitters also risks compromising care for more acutely ill patients, as resources are diverted away from critical needs.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is posting this Call for Innovation to seek out qualified Canadian companies who can meet the desired outcomes. St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and CAN Health reserves the right to not move forward with this project at its full discretion and in particular if there are no qualified Canadian companies that can reasonably meet the desired outcomes.
To qualify for a CAN Health project, the company must meet ALL the following criteria:
- Headquartered in Canada (additional criteria apply for companies not headquartered in Canada)
- Majority ownership of both the company and the solution by Canadians
- Solution at Technology Readiness Level (TRL)>7, indicating actual technology completed and qualified through tests and demonstrations
- All the data and AI models (if applicable) must be hosted in Canada and comply with all the Canadian privacy regulations
- Possess all regulatory approvals required for commercialization, such as Health Canada approval
- Completion of all required clinical validity/unity studies
- No need for policy changes to be widely adopted
- Strong use cases in the Canadian healthcare system.
If the company is not headquartered in Canada or the solution is not majority owned by Canadians, additional criteria apply:
- Independent autonomy over business operations and product development (for subsidiaries, affiliates or distributors)
- High Canadian job creation potential, especially in executive and senior management positions
- Commitment of over 70% of contract value to Canada.
During the company selection process, preference is given to companies/solutions fully owned by Canadians, followed by those majority owned by Canadians, and finally international companies with a significant presence and economic impact in Canada.
For more information on the Call for Innovation process and the commercialization projects funded by CAN Health Network, please refer to the FAQ page on the CAN Health Network website: https://canhealthnetwork.ca/faq/
Problem Statement:
St. Joseph’s Hospital faces challenges in safely monitoring patients with responsive behaviors, wandering tendencies, and acute behavioral changes while maintaining operational efficiency. The hospital’s heavy reliance on one-to-one sitters, particularly high-cost agency PSWs, has led to substantial budget overruns and strained staffing resources. Compounding the issue, patients awaiting transfer to behavioral health units face delays exceeding six months, while current nurse-to-patient ratios (1:4 day, 1:6 night) are insufficient for continuous observation. As a result, the hospital faces ongoing challenges in maintaining patient safety, delivering quality care, and sustaining a viable staffing model.
Objectives:
St. Joseph’s Hospital is seeking a smart patient monitoring solution within inpatient units. This initiative aims to reduce dependency on one-to-one sitters, enhance patient safety monitoring efficiency, prevent adverse events, and improve overall patient care while optimizing staff workflow and resource allocation.
Essential (mandatory) outcomes
The proposed solution must provide:
Patient Safety and Quality Enhancement
- Enhance patient safety through real time monitoring capabilities, fall prevention, and reduction in adverse events.
- Enable timely interventions for at-risk patients while preserving dignity and independence.
Workflow Efficiency and Staff Satisfaction
- Improve workflow efficiency by enabling remote monitoring and allowing staff to prioritize higher acuity needs.
- Increase staff satisfaction by reducing unnecessary in-person observation and freeing time for direct patient care.
Improved Patient Communication
- Allows for Real-time 2-way patient/staff communication
- Virtual companionship is available as an option.
Integration and Compliance Requirements
- Facilitate seamless integration into existing workflows/systems with strong clinician engagement and system compatibility.
- Ensure adherence to privacy standards and obtain governance approval for scalable implementation.
Efficient patient monitoring is critical for enhancing patient safety, regulatory compliance, and operational sustainability, particularly as healthcare systems face increasing demands with limited resources. Ineffective monitoring leads to preventable harm, financial losses, and operational challenges, such as staff burnout, resource misallocation, and compromised care quality. In the St. Joseph’s Hospital inpatient units, these issues impact therapy compliance, staff well-being, and patient safety outcomes. By implementing smart technologies like remote monitoring and AI-enabled patient observation solutions, the hospital aims to improve patient oversight, streamline operations, and set a standard for innovative healthcare delivery that balances safety with sustainability.
