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Niall is a member of the National Strategy Group, organized by Polytechnics Canada — “a national alliance of Canada’s leading research-intensive, publicly-funded colleges and institutes of technology”. It was in this capacity that he met with senior members of the federal government to discuss increasing support to the health information system (HIS) sector.

On behalf of Polytechnics’ National Strategy Group, Niall met with Dr. Suzanne Fortier, president of NSERC; Dr. Eliot Philipson, president of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI); Deputy Minister Richard Dicerni; ADM Robert Dunlop (Science and Innovation); and Philip Welford (Chief of Staff to Minister Gary Goodyear).

Niall and the National Strategy Group are working with these government partners to strengthen and expand federal funding commitments to private sector-academic alliances.

While in Ottawa, Niall also did some work in his new role as co-chair of George Brown College’s Innovation Advisory Board “Developing Industry Champions” working group, which guides the college on how to engage with external industry partners.

The Association of Community Colleges of Canada (ACCC) hosted a panel on February 3rd, to discuss how best to engage and integrate with industry.

Niall led discussions with this group on how to link student outcomes to industry problem solving, and how to best engage students in applied research for the benefit of all involved (industry, faculty and students).

Contact us if you have any questions on these panels and associations, or would like to learn more about how industry can participate with Canada’s academic institutions.

Earlier this year, Santa contacted the Infonaut offices looking for some tech support. It turns out that some of the reindeer get a little carried away with their “games”, especially hide-and-seek.

Santa appreciates that his team is under a lot of pressure, and needs to let off steam. But there’s really no substitute for flying reindeer, and with no second string, Santa had to be sure that he could find them all.

So Infonaut sent a delegation to Santa’s workshop (don’t ask where it is, we signed an NDA and can’t tell you) and fitted each reindeer with an RTLS tag, tucked discretely inside their harness bells.

Santa said that it was cool with him if we share with you the results of that tagging, when he calls olly olly oxen free and the reindeer fly home…

…and so that’s what we’re doing.

Handwashing reduces hospital-acquired infections by decreasing the number of pathogens on the hands. It’s the most important, and least expensive, measure for preventing the transmission of hospital-acquired infections. However, studies show that handwashing compliance rarely exceeds 40%, even in intensive care units.

How It Works:

Hospital Watch Live uses real-time location tags on patients, staff and hospital assets to calculate the movement, contact and interactions across a hospital wing, floor or building. The HWL system is now able to also monitor the location and time spent by staff in relation to handwashing locations within patient care areas.

Automated policy alerts are generated each time staff come in contact with a patient, if they do not first come into contact with a handwashing station or sink. Over time, compliance rates are monitored and reported to hospital staff and managers.

“This real-time compliance management is made possible by combining our partner Sonitor’s ultra-accurate RTLS hardware with Hospital Watch Live’s sophisticated location-based surveillance system. This represents a significant advancement in our effort to deliver the most effective Hospital Infection Control solution available today.” Niall Wallace, Infonaut CEO

Handwashing compliance programs typically use nursing students or other non-uniformed observers to record handwashing practices throughout the working day. The advantage of the Infonaut approach is that real-time surveillance pushes automated policy alerts through Hospital Watch Live to Infection Control Practitioners (ICPs) or other stakeholders, in a live hospital environment.

Why It’s Important:

Only about one third of medical professionals knew that cleaning hands with soap and water was essential in preventing the spread of hospital-acquired infections, since alcohol sanitizers are often ineffective against hospital-acquired infections, like C. difficile.

HWL’s handwashing compliance module helps hospital staff ensure that the simple, effective precaution of handwashing receives the attention and compliance it deserves. While handwashing is highly effective, managing handwashing compliance can be time-consuming and labour-intensive. By integrating handwashing compliance management within the HWL solution, Infonaut is making it easier for hospitals to streamline their fight against hospital-acquired infections.