North York LTC Home Tech Donation “Improves Resident Outcomes”

Thanks to a $ 400,000 donation from an international tech conglomerate, a city-run long-term care home is installing advanced sensors in its ceiling lights that can track people and equipment.

The donation from Siemens’ charitable arm, called Siemens Caring Hands eV, will fund 2,000 of the so-called Siemens Enlighted IoT sensors at Cummer Lodge in North York.

These sensors are combined with software applications, the resulting anonymous data being analyzed and used to help the healthcare team manage occupancy, equipment tracking, and disinfection of buildings and equipment.

“We expect (this technology) to help track items or assets such as medication carts, tables above the bed, and life-signaling devices,” said Riaz Shaikh, project manager with Toronto Seniors Services and Long-Term Care. “In short, it saves time. It improves resident outcomes by quickly locating and obtaining equipment when and where it is needed.

He said the technology can track where the assets have been used, which will help target cleaning and disinfection. He pointed out that the technology is scalable, noting that Cummer Lodge will initially use it primarily for asset tracking.

“He maps the residents. He’s mapping out where the people in the building have been, ”he said. “Due to privacy concerns, we felt this was not appropriate for this particular use, and ended up looking at the asset tracking element first… then we will explore other options at the to come up.”

_{Siemens Caring Hands charity donated $ 400,000 to implement cutting-edge sensor-based technology at Cummer Lodge in the fight against the pandemic. – Dan Pearce / Metroland}

Shaikh said this was the first time the technology would be used in a city-run long-term care home. He suggested the technology could be rolled out to other homes in the future. “We will be piloting it for a while and we will be evaluating it for expansion in the future.”

Shaikh said the technology will be fully installed in three to four months, and Cummer Lodge will start using it in late spring or early summer. “We are really excited about this technology and the impact it will have on saving staff time and improving resident outcomes. “

Cummer Lodge, which has 391 residents, is one of 10 long-term care homes run by the city.

“Throughout the pandemic, our long-term care homes have experienced extreme challenges while receiving overwhelming support from the community, so Siemens’ donation is an example of this generous support,” Shaikh said.

_{Faisal Kazi, left, President and CEO of Siemens Canada alongside Riaz Shaikh, Project Director with Toronto Seniors Services and Long-Term Care for the City of Toronto, right, outside Cummer Lodge on December 23. The Siemens Caring Hands charity donated $ 400,000 to implement cutting-edge sensor-based technology in the city-owned long-term care home. – Dan Pearce / Metroland}

Faisal Kazi, president and CEO of Siemens Canada, said long-term care facilities have been hit hard by the pandemic, noting that sensor-based technology can identify areas of congestion, which may improve and concentrate disinfection efforts.

“Cummer Lodge, where we donate, uses it for medical (tracking) equipment so the right equipment can be found immediately and brought to residents in need,” he said. “There is also the possibility of geofencing so that some expensive or important equipment can be virtually geotagged in a certain location and if they leave that area it will trigger an alarm. ”

Kazi said the technology would improve the efficiency of operations. “It will have a significant impact, and from a COVID perspective, targeted disinfection would be one of the key pieces of the technology. “

Cummer Lodge is the first Canadian recipient of the international fund led by Siemens Caring Hands.

“Tackling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is a central goal of Siemens Caring Hands,” Stephan Frucht, Siemens Caring Hands board member, said in a statement.

“Our support for Cummer Lodge is central to this. This digital solution will help mitigate the long-term negative effects of the pandemic and enhance the safety of residents, caregivers and visitors. We hope this will translate into a better quality of life in the facility and provide additional comfort to both residents and their loved ones. “

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When journalist Andrew Palamarchuk learned of the installation of new sensor-based technology at a North York long-term care home, he wanted to know what the impact would be on the city-run facility.