Feb 29, 2020 | News
HALIFAX—Dr. Brendan Carr, the president and CEO of the Nova Scotia Health Authority, admits the province’s health care system faces some challenging problems.
Emergency room closures, doctor recruitment, high cancer rates, and a host of other issues are all taxing health care in the province—and Carr believes old solutions won’t fix it.
“We’ve reached a point where simply improving on the way we do things is simply not efficient,” he said Friday, speaking to about 150 health-and-technology-industry players at Volta in Halifax. “We actually need to generate new solutions to these old problems, and we can only do that by bringing new thinking together.”
According to Carr, collaboration and innovation are the keys to fixing health care in the province. And it’s for that exact reason that the NSHA has partnered with several organizations in the province for the “Health Challenge.”
The Health Challenge is a series of events that invite startups to pitch their medical technologies to a panel of judges.
Participants will get 15 minutes to convince the panel their technology can help drive innovation in Nova Scotia health care. There will be five events, each focused on a different provincial health care priority.
Winners of each of the events will receive $100,000 and the opportunity to have their technology adopted for use by the NSHA.
It’s that second part that makes the competition especially valuable for technology startups in the region.
Scott Moffitt is the executive director of BioNova, one of the partners in the Health Challenge. He explained that getting their product into the market is a key step for medical technology companies, but is often one of the toughest hurdles to clear.
“When a [Nova Scotia] company goes to Arkansas and they say ‘is your product being used by the Nova Scotia Health Authority’ and the answer is no, that’s a red flag,” he said.
Moffitt said there are tons of companies in Nova Scotia doing all kinds of innovative things. A real-world endorsement from the NSHA can help put them on the map.
“How do we continue to support and accelerate these companies while adding value to the health care system? That is what today’s is all about. Collaboration is the key. From an ecosystem level it takes a village to support these companies,” he said.
The first of the Health Challenge’s five-pitch competitions will take place on April 8, and will focus on technologies that support cancer care.
For more information on the challenge, or to learn how to apply to pitch, visit the challenge’s website.
Feb 28, 2020 | BF2030, News
For Immediate Release:
Atlantic Canadian Medtech Companies Invited to Pitch for $100K at Five-Part Health Challenge Events
HALIFAX, NS (February 28, 2020) – To further drive innovation in the health ecosystem, the Nova Scotia Health Authority, BioNova, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, QEII Foundation, and Volta, have formed a strategic partnership to present the Health Challenge , a series of five pitch events focusing on specific health care priorities for Nova Scotians.
Each pitch event will focus on a different health care priority, as identified by the Nova Scotia Health Authority. Medtech companies interested in applying must be based in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador. The winner at each pitch competition will receive $100,000, and their innovative medical technology will be considered for adoption for use by the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
This exciting collaboration between NSHA, BioNova, QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation, ACOA, and Volta will leverage the organizations’ shared interest in enhancing the health care system.
The first Health Challenge pitch event will focus on medical technologies supporting cancer care, and will take place on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 in downtown Halifax, in Volta’s main event space; members of the public will be welcome to attend. To participate, medtech companies must first apply by email, then be invited to pitch at the Health Challenge Pitch Events. Future pitch topics and application instructions can be found at voltaeffect.com/health-challenge.
Quotes:
“The Health Challenge is meant to stimulate collaboration and engagement with our medtech partners. It will also encourage those of us in the health system to problem solve in a different way and seek innovative health solutions created by Atlantic Canadians – for Atlantic Canadians.
– Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy, Vice President, Research, Innovation & Discovery and CNE, Nova Scotia Health Authority
“As the leadership organization for the health and life sciences sector in Nova Scotia we strive to build a collaborative ecosystem to realize our full potential. This partnership reflects that and the local adoption of health innovation is a win for our sector, it gives our companies a first customer while keeping patient outcomes and healthcare realities a priority.”
– Scott Moffitt, Executive Director, BioNova
“There are many examples of healthcare innovation taking place within the walls of the QEII Health Sciences Centre – achievements being recognized on the global stage that are helping this community prosper. QEII Foundation donors are at the forefront of bringing some of these major innovations forward, which are not only impacting patient care each and every day but helping solve some of the biggest healthcare challenges like wait times, recruitment and retention, and access to care.”
– Bill Bean, President and CEO, QEII Foundation
“Nova Scotia is home to some of the most exciting medtech companies in Canada, who continue to drive innovation on a global scale. We are excited and proud to partner with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, QEII Foundation, BioNova, and ACOA to provide a platform for these innovators and leaders to elevate health care locally.”
– Jesse Rodgers, CEO, Volta
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About Nova Scotia Health Authority
Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) provides health services to Nova Scotians and a wide array of specialized services to Maritimers and Atlantic Canadians. NSHA operates hospitals, health centres and community-based programs across the province. Our team of health professionals includes employees, doctors, researchers, learners and volunteers. We work in partnership with community groups, schools, governments, foundations and auxiliaries and community health boards.
About BioNova
BioNova leads the development of Health and Life Sciences in Nova Scotia. Our primary mandate is the strategic leadership of the sector to develop economic prosperity.
About QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation
The QEII Foundation inspires generosity to advance health care at the QEII. With financial support from all levels of the community, the QEII Foundation helps fund new technologies, medical research, innovation and professional education that contribute to life-changing moments experienced every day by patients and their loved ones. By working together with people who share a vision of better health, the Foundation strengthens care delivered at the QEII, improving the health and lives of Atlantic Canadians.
About the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency works to create opportunities for economic growth in Atlantic Canada by helping businesses become more competitive, innovative and productive, by working with diverse communities to develop and diversify local economies, and by championing the strengths of Atlantic Canada. Together, with Atlantic Canadians, ACOA is building a stronger economy. For more information, please visit www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca .
About Volta
Volta (formerly Volta Labs) is one of Canada’s largest innovation hubs, located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. Volta is creating a space where members of the Atlantic Canadian innovation ecosystem can work, connect and learn from one another by accessing co-working space, participating in programs and attending events. Volta has been home to more than 50 startups through their Residency program, which have created more than 300 jobs and raised a combined total of $60-million in equity financing.
For more information, contact:
Patti Green, Communications Coordinator, Nova Scotia Health Authority
[email protected], 902-266-6853
Shana Cristoferi, Marketing Manager, BioNova
[email protected] , 902-421-5705
Tanya MacLean, VP Communications and Marketing, QEII Foundation
[email protected] , 902-489-5664
Laurie Snell, Marketing Manager, Volta
[email protected], 902-220-2544
Nov 29, 2018 | News, Tranquility Online
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The Volta Cohort program awarded a total of $150,000 to six companies on Wednesday night, handing out an extra $25,000 bundle due to the strength of the pitches.
In its third pitching event, the Volta Cohort advertised that it would invest as much as $25,000 to as many as five companies, but it added a bonus investment to a sixth company at the event. Volta Labs, the Halifax startup house, organizes the event to help out early-stage companies that need their first equity investment to help them reach the market.
Thirteen companies pitched at the event, and the winners were:
Aurea Technologies (Halifax)
Byos Cybersecurity (Halifax)
iLokol Technologies (Halifax)
Milk Moovement (St John’s)
Neothermal Energy Storage Inc. (Bridgewater, NS)
Tranquility Online (Halifax) – Tranquility offers an online, Software-as-a-Service solution that uses the gold standard therapy approach for anxiety: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT. Tranquility’s interactive CBT software was built by experts and can also be accompanied by coaching from real people, who will be trained with an internally developed training protocol. The company recently launched a $1400-a-month pilot project with Volta-resident entrepreneurs.]]>
Nov 28, 2018 | News, Tranquility Online
Read the full article here
After taking his online treatment for anxiety through an initial pilot, Joel Muise is now working with those at the coalface of anxiety—entrepreneurs—before launching TranquilityOnline to the general public in the new year.
TranquilityOnline aims to make getting treatment for anxiety affordable and timely by allowing users to access online support through a coach rather than a therapist. Coaches use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, to show sufferers how to shift negative thought patterns to balanced ones, and how to face challenges rather than avoid them.
Muise said the new paid pilot with Halifax’s Volta Labs startup house will allow Tranquility to work with seven entrepreneurs over six months. Volta will pay Tranquility $1,400 each month — money which will go toward covering the costs associated with launching to the general public in the new year.
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