Attention Island Health innovators: the annual Code Hack event returns March 7-9, 2025 at Royal Jubilee Hospital—and we want you to join us!
This hackathon is a chance to come together with patients, staff, volunteers, students, community members and point-of-care colleagues to work on health-care challenges at Island Health and develop solutions. Applicants do not have to work in health care and there is no cost to participate.
Code Hack is an initiative on behalf of Island Health's Innovation Lab. Innovation is a top priority for Island Health, and a key part of our Strategic Framework and Annual Plan.
Application forms for Code Hack 2025 are available at islandhealth.ca/codehack. The application deadline is February 2, 2025 – register now to be one of 100 participants who will collaborate on solutions for health-care challenges! Watch the Intranet, our public website and Island Health's social media platforms for updates:
- X: @VanIslandHealth
- Instagram: @VanIslandHealth
- Facebook: @VanIslandHealth
- Hashtag: #IslandHealthCodeHack
You don't have to be a tech whiz to be a hacker; all you need is a passion to improve health care! Supplies, materials, space and mentorship from leaders in business, the public sector and the community will be provided at the hackathon.
Once participants have formed small working groups and made their project pitches, they then have 24 hours to create solutions. This may result in an app, a care pathway, signage, a website or a resource for a treatment room. Anything goes – you get to decide.
Winners receive opportunities to develop their prototypes further with Island Health's Innovation Lab and other community partners.
Code Hack 2024's first-place project focused on developing easy-to-use “eyeHealth" kits to prevent blindness among vulnerable populations, including First Nations, with treatable conditions such as diabetic retinopathy. This project also received the People's Choice award, which is voted on by Code Hack participants.
Other winning efforts included a discrete, user-friendly device that rapidly detects fentanyl in substances, and a project to improve communications between care providers and patients in emergency departments. Watch the video from 2024 to see what Code Hack is all about and how fun this event is.
Have questions about the event? Email CodeHack@islandhealth.ca
Volunteer opportunities
Volunteers, mentors and coaches are crucial to Code Hack's success! The event requires about 20 volunteers, who register participants when they arrive, help people find their way around, set up rooms, hand out supplies and ensure that coffee, water and snacks are in ready supply.
We are also looking for mentors who can offer their expertise and experience as a health-care provider, designer, developer or patient. They circulate from team to team during the event and offer insight, ideas and real-world tips to hacker teams based on the challenges.
Coaches are like mentors, but offer dedicated 15-minute sessions with teams for more focused feedback. Coaches provide teams with an invaluable opportunity to test their solution with real-world experts. Ideally we would like to recruit three types of coaches for the event: one with a clinical focus, one with a business focus and one with a patient perspective.
To volunteer for any of these positions, please email codehack@islandhealth.ca by February 2, 2025.
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Innovation is a key priority for Island Health and involves translating the input and ingenuity of our staff, physicians, partners and patients into new ideas and solutions that address health-care challenges and improve people's lives. Examples of innovation in action include Code Hack, sensor trials at Island Health washrooms that monitor for toxic drug poisonings, enhanced accessibility features for the future Cowichan District Hospital and the Cognitive Health Initiative, a visionary project focused on research and care for patients living with cognitive health issues.