On Thursday, January 26, Conestoga welcomed more than 80 guests to the School of Health and Life Sciences and Community Services at the Doon campus for Hacking Health -- an event that connects technology creators and health care professionals to collaborate on solutions to front-line health care problems.
Hacking Health originated in Montreal in 2012 and has grown to more than 50 chapters worldwide. The Waterloo chapter launched in October 2015 and hosts meetings across the region to allow participants to network and stay current on local collaborations and projects involving health care issues. This was the second Hacking Health event held at Conestoga.
Speakers for the evening included Conestoga’s Dr. Veronique Boscart, CIHR/Schlegel Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Seniors Care; Ig Kolenko, chair, School of Engineering and Information Technology; and Justin St-Maurice, program coordinator, Bachelor of Applied Health Information Science.
Boscart discussed the care needs of Canada’s senior’s population and the current challenges in delivering that care. She outlined the requirement for an integrated health care system and called on the technology sector to support the development of a single electronic health record that can be shared across systems. Mulitple records are currently maintained which can delay delivery of care.
St-Maurice provided an overview of Conestoga’s Bachelor of Applied Health Information Science program and Kolenko shared a presentation on cyber security as it relates to health data and informatics.
Hacking Health attendees also toured Conestoga’s School of Health and Life Sciences and Community Services to learn more about the college’s programs and to view the various simulation labs used by students for skills training.
Conestoga’s School of Health & Life Sciences and Community Services delivers a comprehensive array of career-focused programs that combine theoretical and hands-on learning.
For more information about the School of Health & Life Sciences and Community Services, visit its website