Bethany Care Society (Bethany) is one of Western Canada’s largest not-for-profit providers of care, housing, and community services for seniors and persons with disabilities.

But Bethany is more than just a landlord. Through an exciting research partnership with a large international organization, we tested the Seniors at Home virtual technology at three of our housing sites in Alberta. This one-year pilot project was the first in Canada to utilize sensors and easy-to-use tablet devices to support remote health and wellness monitoring in study participants’ homes. The technology allowed the participants to communicate regularly with their nursing wellness partners, fostering meaningful relationships and allowing them to successfully identify and achieve important health and wellness goals.

Our tenants saw an improvement in sleep patterns, mobility, weight regulation, and management of chronic medical conditions. These results and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the study participants highlight the positive impacts of using technologies like this to enhance overall health and well-being. In the future, study participants hope to see widespread program implementation to extend the incredible benefit to other seniors.

To learn more about the Seniors at Home initiative and other Bethany research and innovation initiatives, the full article can be found here in our 2023 Annual Report.