Headed for Web Summit 2025, SyncMed’s new app strives to streamline critical patient handovers
SyncMed Technologies Inc. is on a mission to improve healthcare communications.
Founded by Kate Ewing (Chief Operating Officer), Brandon Blondeau (Chief Product Officer), and Franci Sterzer (Chief Executive Officer), SyncMed uses technology to link healthcare providers easily and efficiently.
Their flagship product, the EMS2ED app, streamlines the transfer of critical patient information from paramedics to emergency department staff, enhancing patient safety and reducing cognitive load for frontline providers.
Ewing, who has been a nurse for 15 years, emphasizes the importance of communication and information transfer during these pivotal moments.
“Our app allows paramedics to communicate seamlessly with hospitals — they can take pictures of IDs, take pictures of accident scenes, patch through with just a voice communication note, access ambient listening to generate their reports, and more.”
“All that information is stored and goes directly to the hospitals,” she says.
Blondeau, who has been a paramedic for 15 years, says that their hope is to empower healthcare workers with the tools they need to improve emergency patient care.
“We hope to become the new standard for communications in emergency departments,” he says.
This collective goal is what drove the team to chart a new path and start SyncMed. “I never thought I’d want to go into entrepreneurship,” Ewing says with a laugh.
She says that entrepreneurship comes with a lot of learning along the way. “I’m an ER nurse, so I’ve always considered myself a jack of all trades, but now I’m really a jack of all trades. Being a COO means I’ve had to learn finances, equity tables, marketing strategies, and more.”
“That being said, there are a lot more resources out there than I thought there would be.”
One of those key resources is the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking, housed at the University of Calgary. Referencing the Hunter Hub’s former Aeir program, Ewing says that their startup wouldn’t be where it is today without the help of the Hunter Hub.
“From connecting us with strategies, to always being in the background when we’ve had a bad day or hit a roadblock; they always helped us work through the problem to find the best solutions,” she says.
As they work towards piloting their app in the fall, the team is excited to showcase their venture at Web Summit 2025. Held in Vancouver, Web Summit is North America’s fastest growing tech conference.
“I’m most looking forward to the networking opportunities,” Ewing says. “We’re one of the only ones doing this in Canada; I’d love to talk to other small health-tech startups to learn more about the problems that they’re facing, so that we can prepare for those challenges.”
The team is excited to get their product off the ground: “As we build our software, we plan to do some research pilots provincially, with a goal of proving the efficacy of our product and developing it for implementation into healthcare systems on a national scale,” Blondeau says.
The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking is proud to support ten of the University of Calgary’s most promising startups at Web Summit. These ventures, founded by students, researchers and alumni, have been supported by the Hunter Hub through various programming, mentorship, hands-on learning opportunities, and a rich community driven by entrepreneurial thinking and creative innovation.
Planning to attend Web Summit? Visit the Hunter Hub’s booth to connect with SyncMed and the nine other ventures making waves in UCalgary’s innovation ecosystem.
Ready to take your first (or tenth) step into entrepreneurship at the University of Calgary? The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking is here to support you as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, whatever form that may take. Through a variety of programs, services, and year-round community events, the Hunter Hub is here to meet you where you are — whether you’re looking to pitch a startup, develop your business, or simply dive deep into an issue that ignites you. Visit the Hunter Hub website to learn more.
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