Toronto-based startup BookJane has partnered with the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) to help long term care and senior living facilities find, schedule, and communicate with staff.
“The focus on innovation and technology is critical to our success in meeting the needs of our residents.”
The aim of the partnership is to help address the staffing crisis faced by many long term care facilities across the province and provide insights into how technology can reduce administration time spent, as well as improve shift fulfilment rates and staff retention in Ontario’s senior care sector.
BookJane is offering the OLTCA its J360 platform for workforce scheduling to allow long term care and senior living facilities in the province to coordinate with their internal or agency staff. The platform is also aimed to help these facilities find extra staff through BookJane’s marketplace of on-demand healthcare professionals.
BookJane’s partnership with the OLTCA comes amid a crisis in senior living facilities across the province. According to data from the government of Ontario, 3,554 long term care staff and residents in the province have died from COVID-19, as of Monday. That represents nearly one-fifth of all COVID-19 deaths in Ontario since April.
Although the number of deaths declined significantly over the summer, the province’s data indicates the number of deaths in these facilities has been steadily increasing since October.
“The COVID-19 crisis has exposed how innovative methods are needed to tackle the staff recruitment and retainment challenges being faced by Ontario’s senior care sector,” said Curtis Khan, CEO of BookJane. “We are thrilled to partner with the OLTCA to help improve the quality of seniors’ care in Ontario and drive the use of technology in the industry forward, with our innovative J360 platform.”
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BookJane launched in 2016 with a mobile app that helps users find caregivers or babysitters for children and seniors on demand. The proprietary BookJane J360 Platform allows healthcare facilities to broadcast a service request to staff across Ontario, based on proximity and availability.
In April, at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in Canada, the startup repurposed its platform to help the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) meet the demand for physicians in the province’s fight against COVID-19. That partnership also saw the repurposing of the J360 platform to allow any hospital or health care facility in Ontario to quickly book a physician when they needed one.
At the time of the partnership with the OMA, BookJane’s flagship mobile app, which is targeted to facilities and agencies focused on senior care and childcare, was still being offered amid the repurposing.
“Now more than ever, the focus on innovation and technology is critical to our success in meeting the needs of our residents,” said Donna Duncan, CEO of the OLTCA. “We are grateful to innovative leaders, like BookJane, whose support and partnership allow us to continue to do the vital work for our homes and build a better future for our aging communities.”
Image source StockSnap.