Brightshores Health System is introducing a new digital call bell system designed to make it easier for patients to communicate with their nursing team and help nurses respond to the most urgent needs first.
Developed in Waterloo, this technology replaces the traditional one-button call bell with an easy-to-use app. Patient requests are automatically sorted and prioritized, giving nurses quick, useful information at a glance.
“Clear communication is foundational to high-quality care,” said Ann Ford, president and CEO, Brightshores. “With this app, patients can easily express what they need and care teams can respond more effectively. Delivering patient-centred care is important to us, and PatientCompanion helps us to do this while better supporting our staff.”
Brightshores tested PatientCompanion in 2025 in the Women and Child Care Unit at the Owen Sound Hospital and the Medicine/Surgical Unit at the Southampton Hospital, gathering feedback from both patients and staff.
“We designed PatientCompanion to improve the experience on both sides of the call bell,” said Christy Lee, co-founder of PatientCompanion. “Seeing this project translate into procurement is incredibly meaningful, because it means more patients are receiving better care, and nurses are better supported, every day.”
The project was supported by the CAN Health Network and led at Brightshores by its Office of Research and Innovation. Later this spring, the app will return to Southampton’s Medical/Surgical Unit, with additional testing to follow in other Brightshores’ hospital sites and departments.
“This project shows what is possible when healthcare providers and Canadian entrepreneurs work together to improve care in practical, measurable ways,” said Dante Morra, founder and CEO, CAN Health Network. “By modernizing something as fundamental as the call bell, Brightshores is improving the patient experience and supporting frontline teams at the same time.”
The app can be accessed using patients’ personal smartphones or a hospital-provided tablet. The platform also supports multiple languages and can be customized to different units and the different types of patients in a hospital’s care.
This collaboration reflects the CAN Health Network’s mandate to help health care operators identify priority challenges, evaluate Canadian-made solutions in real-life environments, and support evidence-based procurement decisions.
