Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Combining more than 4 decades in and around government and politics with small business roots and real life experiences. Since the beginning of 2024 my professional focus has reverted to health care which is where I had the most consequential professional experience of my lifetime. Since then I have been dedicating myself to two areas where I feel very personally motivated to be a change maker. Health Workforce Innovations Inc., and our subsidiary Aspira Talent have staked out critical territory in the area of physician recruitment. We try to add to the number of practicing physicians in ON and Canada by seeking readily licensable doctors from UK, US, Australia, Ireland and South Africa. Our boutique firm is achieving good success and we are serving municipalities, hospitals, community recruitment organizations and individual clinics. My other business focus in the area of Aging at Home and this is a need that is growing rapidly alongside the aging that our society is facing. In 2007 I launched a $ 1.2 Billion ($1.8 B today) 3 year program to champion solutions to keep people in the place they call home. We knew then that there was no way to bricks and mortar your way past aging. Ontario is living proof of this reality with more and more patients stranded in hospital beds waiting for Long Term Care that for many won't actually come before they pass. The current model does not guarantee a dignified aging process which is the primary motivation behind Wellhaus. Great human care depends upon workers in home care receiving a living wage and better working conditions. You only have to look at the turnover rates amongst PSWs to see the problem and that is why improving their conditions is paramount. We can not go along with the idea that the lowest paid person in health care and the one most likely to lack proper benefits is also the person most likely to be providing care for me, often alone and in my own home. Our model places an emphasis on PSW compensation and we are also championing solutions around PSW housing. Technology offers many opportunities to augment the loving care that humans can provide and we are harnessing the full potential. Not only can technology provide 24/7 monitoring, increasingly we can predict events before they occur. While lots of people are familiar with "I've fallen and I can't get up" the truth is if you are over 80 and you fall, the outcome could literally become life threatening. The thing is, practically everybody I speak to can relate to the challenges of supporting an aging loved. Wellhaus is there to help!
Wellhaus is an emerging player in the Aging at Home space. Our focus in on providing dignified aging for Ontarians. We are an integrator of care providers that puts the client at the centre of care, replacing the current home care model that often projects itself as fragmented. We also believe that technology is a big asset when it comes to augmenting the care that humans can provide. We believe in technology for 24/7 monitoring and beyond to predict health events before they occur. We measure our success based on hospital admission avoidance. We also believe that lonliness and isolation warrant far more focus and our approaches include intergenerational interventions. Our model will also seek to enhance the compensation, benefits and overall satisfaction of PSWs who carry a great deal of the care.
Health Workforce Innovations Inc. was conceived to be a service provider with the capability of helping communities and institutions improve their prospects of attracting great talent. Through the learned experiences of George Smitherman and Sherri Fournier Hudson we guide our clients on a pathway that may include policy reform, practice model re - orientation and community engagement to name but a few. Clients include municipalities and health care providers in primary care, addictions and mental health, home and community care, Long Term Care and Hospitals.
Aspira Talent is the wholly owned talent subsidiary of Health Workforce Innovations Incorporated. Aspira lives to support finding talent and especially helping to present and prepare talents for opportunities in various health care settings, in all parts of Ontario, Canada.
Aspira Talent combines numerous skills in health care behind the objective of helping match great talent with employers and communities. As the Recruitment arm of Health Workforce Innovations Inc. we strive to create conditions where successful candidates don't just get great jobs but they and their families get great quality of life in their new home communities.
Smitherman Sustainable Solutions Inc. provides advice to clients in various sectors with a focus on hospitality. Through investment in La Colonial Collection in Havana, Cuba SSSI has provided marketing support and advisory services on a transition to utilize renewable energy and battery back up to enhance reliability.