Building the future of healthcare through innovation
Q&A with Danina Kapetanovic, VP of Innovation, AI
Strategy, and Chief Health Innovation Officer, WRHN
WRHN Foundation CEO Doug Earle spoke with Danina Kapetanovic, Vice President, Innovation and AI Strategy and Chief Health Innovation Officer, about how CareNext is bringing innovation into care today while preparing WRHN for the future—and the role donors play in making that possible.
What is CareNext and why is it important?
Hospitals take years to design and build. The decisions made today will determine how well they can respond to technologies, models of care and expectations that are still emerging.
CareNext is helping WRHN look beyond the immediate horizon. By testing new approaches and building the right partnerships now, we can bring what we learn into both current care and the design of the new hospital. The goal is a hospital that opens ready for the future—with relationships already established, teams prepared to adapt and innovation embedded in how care is delivered.
Donor support allows us to begin building that future long before the doors open.”
What do we mean by "innovation" in healthcare?
Innovation is one of those words that is used to mean different things. But in reality it has a really clear meaning: it's a process through which we take ideas and turn them into practice to create value – in our case, creating solutions that improve care.
It's not innovation if no one uses it.
Healthcare is facing unprecedented challenges: an aging population, increasing demand, and workforce shortages. Doing more of the same isn't sustainable.
So, innovation means rethinking how care is delivered, adopting new technologies where they make sense, and redesigning processes so clinicians can spend more time caring for patients. CareNext provides the expertise and partnerships needed to test, refine and implement those solutions.
What makes Waterloo Region uniquely positioned for this work?
Few communities have the innovation ecosystem that exists here.
The University of Waterloo and our regional partners produce experts in systems engineering, user experience design, artificial intelligence, data science and health policy – skills that aren't traditionally found within hospitals but are essential to designing the healthcare system of the future.
CareNext brings those disciplines together with frontline healthcare teams to solve complex problems in new ways.
What is CareNext's vision?
CareNext is focused on building both innovation capacity and culture at WRHN.
The first phase is creating a multidisciplinary team and empowering staff to identify challenges and develop solutions alongside university and industry partners.
The longer-term vision is to establish Waterloo Region as an international model for healthcare innovation. By the time our new hospital opens on the University of Waterloo campus, we'll have the partnerships, expertise and innovation mindset needed to continually adapt and prepare for the future of care.
What has CareNext accomplished so far?
In its first year, CareNext has established strong partnerships across the region while launching projects that are already improving patient care and staff experience.
- We’ve introduced AI-powered clinical documentation tools that reduce the time clinicians spend taking notes, allowing them to focus more attention on patients instead of computer screens.
- We’ve launched an Emergency Department Innovation Challenge to address emergency department overcrowding and long wait times by collaborating on ways to improve patient flow and creating new approaches for lower-acuity patients.
- We’re also introducing dementia engagement technology at our Chicopee site through an interactive system that encourages social connection and cognitive engagement for residents while helping families participate more meaningfully in their loved one's care.
How is CareNext helping shape WRHN's new hospital?
Hospitals take years to design and build. If they're planned around today's challenges alone, they risk being outdated before they even open.
CareNext is helping WRHN anticipate the future by identifying emerging technologies, new models of care and innovative ways of working that can be incorporated into the design of the new hospital.
Just as importantly, CareNext is building relationships with the University of Waterloo and other partners now so that when the new hospital opens, those collaborations are already thriving.
How has donor support made this work possible?
With the generosity of donors, we are positioning WRHN as the hospital of the future – transformed and ready to meet the demands of tomorrow.
Donor support is building WRHN's innovation capability by bringing together experts, testing new ideas and adapting promising technologies to improve patient care.
Without that support, this work wouldn’t be possible.
What would you like donors to know about funding innovation?
Innovation is an investment in tomorrow's healthcare. And your donation translates directly to our capability to build the future of care.
I’m so grateful to the foundation and to our donors for their support and ability to look to the future and invest in the intangible.
Innovation doesn't always yield immediate results. But our donors believe in the importance of this work, and their support is helping ensure Waterloo Region isn't just keeping pace with healthcare innovation – we're leading it.
Healthcare innovation: building through CareNext
Transforming care with a bedside swallow test
