CareNext Collective

The final CareNext Collective event for 2025 showcased one of the most meaningful operational shifts at WRHN this year: the sustained reduction of ambulance offload times across both the Queen’s Blvd and Midtown sites. The initiative demonstrated how targeted, system-level innovation can emerge from cross-sector collaboration between emergency department leadership, paramedic services, informatics teams, patient partners, and frontline staff.

Participants joined the conversation to explore the origins of the work, the technical and relational enablers of change, and what it takes to move a local breakthrough into a sustainable system shift.

Speakers:

• Chief John Riches
  Region of Waterloo Public Health and Paramedic Services
• Brandon Douglas
  Vice-president, patient care, Queen’s Blvd. site lead, WRHN
• Tricia Brown
  Director of emergency departments, SADV, chest program, respiratory therapy, WRHN
• Wendy James
  Clinical manager emergency department, short stay unit and SCOPE program, Queen’s Blvd. site
• Lakshmi Rajkumar
  Decision support team, WRHN
• Becky Mueller
  Patient partner

This event featured the Electrophysiology (EP) Program at the Waterloo Regional Health Network. We explored how the EP team transformed their approach to cardiac ablation — streamlining workflows, strengthening partnerships and scaling from just a few procedures a day to seven — all while maintaining safety, quality, and patient-centered care.

Moderator Danina Kapetanovic, vice-president innovation and chief health innovation officer, CareNext Coalition, invited conversation and reflection as the team shares what it takes to drive innovation from within: building trust, leveraging data, and continuously improving to meet the growing needs of our community.

Speakers: 

• Dr Umjeet Jolly
  Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist, WRHN

• Al Qahwash
  Director, Clinical Care and Regional Cardiac Program, WRHN

• Stefanie Cooper
  Program Manager, Procedural Cardiology and the Post Heart Investigation Unit, WRHN

• Diana Nguyen
  Advanced Clinical Account Specialist, Johnson & Johnson MedTech

Manulife presents CareNext Collective: The potential of robotics in health care

A conversation about the future of health care robotics was facilitated by Dr. Brandon J. DeHart, manager of RoboHub at the University of Waterloo. Participants learned what modern robotics can do today, explored what health care professionals should expect and demand tomorrow, and discovered how Waterloo RoboHub can be a partner in co-developing real solutions that make a difference. 

Speakers  

• Danina Kapetanovic 
  Vice President, Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer
  CareNext Coalition 

• Dr. Brandon J. DeHart 
  Manager, Robohub 
  University of Waterloo  

• Rebecca Stuart
  Executive Project Director
  Service Planning and Operational Readiness, Redevelopment Team 
  Waterloo Regional Health Network

A candid and constructive deep dive into WRHN’s first attempt to co-develop and implement an AI tool to support general internal medicine — a project that, while ultimately not sustained, played a pivotal role in shaping our current AI readiness and strategy. 

• Carla Girolametto, Director of Research, WRHN
• Elliott McMillan, Program Director, Medicine, WRHN
• Jenna Merritt, Clinical Manager, WRHN
• Dr. Payal Agrawal, Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer, WRHN
• Sheena Melwani, Senior Deployment Manager, Signal 1

Together, they explored:

• What worked, what didn’t, and why
• How organizational readiness and context shaped the outcome
• What we learned about responsible AI adoption
• How those lessons are directly informing our current efforts

The future of care starts before you're sick: How a WRHN team is changing the game in heart health

The CareNext Collective hosted a virtual event that shines a spotlight on the PREVENT Clinic – a pioneering initiative that challenges traditional care pathways and demonstrates what happens when practitioners coordinate across silos and intervene earlier to prevent cardiovascular disease.  

Participants learned from the visionary team at Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) who brought the clinic to life, including practitioners, partners and the patients whose lives have been positively impacted by this preventative approach to care.

Speakers

• Danina Kapetanovic
  Vice-President, Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer
  CareNext Coalition
• Dr. Heather Warren
  Vice-President, Medical Affairs
  WRHN
• Dr. Ala Qahwash
  Director, Cristical Care and Regional Cardiac Program
  WRHN
• Joanna Marcovici
  Director, Community Investment Lead
  Manulife Canada

The CareNext Collective is a new innovation forum that brings together partners across the Waterloo Regional Health Network, the University of Waterloo, and the broader regional ecosystem.

Three renowned leaders discussed innovation in health care, research and system transformation on May 9:

• Danina Kapetanovic
  Vice-President, Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer
  CareNext Coalition
• Dr. Catharine Burns
  Associate Vice-President, Health Initiatives
  University of Waterloo
• Dr. Zayna Khayat
  Heath Future Strategist