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As the largest regional health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador, Eastern Health works toward meeting the needs of 300,000 residents every day. This includes generating new and innovative ways to exceed them.
Says the Director of Research and Innovation, Farah McCrate: “There’s a lot of good work ongoing to harness the collective expertise of many inside and outside our organization.”
Eastern Health (incorporating over 13,000 employees and 700+ physicians) actively engages the private sector by encouraging the development of innovative heath care technologies and processes delivering positive impacts on patient care and quality of life. These solutions have the potential to generate economic value and benefits through cost savings and new sources of revenue.
An aging population, growing rates of chronic disease and associated risk factors, long distances between communities, and rising costs make providing high-quality health care challenging. Finding new ways to improve patient outcomes and be sustainable is a priority at Eastern Health’s Innovation Strategy.
“Health care is a major contributor to the economy,” McCrate explains. “When we have a viable system that finds creative solutions to improve patient outcomes and quality of care and keeps a strategic lens on business development, it benefits everybody.”
“Our team is embedded right in the system, so they can access and navigate it on behalf of innovators. This collaboration helps businesses generate, test and refine new technologies and processes that reinforce existing approaches and introduce new ones for the betterment of all who interact with our health system.”
According to provincial data, Eastern Heath’s innovation strategy accounted for an estimated impact of $12.2 million Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As well, there has been an $11.1 million impact on wages and benefits, plus 133 new jobs created in 2020.
Says McCrate: “By working with business innovators today, Eastern Health is laying the foundations for the future of top-quality health care for everyone tomorrow.”
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