Ready to Work Smarter?

Published: June 13, 2025 Author: Lee St. James

From Manual Record-keeping to Smart Monitoring

With the arrival of warmer weather, temperature monitoring and resident comfort are probably top of mind for every long-term care administrator (and for public health inspectors when they arrive unannounced!). Are your skilled staff still manually recording room, fridge and water temperatures on paper? If so, now is the time to say goodbye to those outdated methods. 

It's time to go Digital!

• Improve resident satisfaction and well-being

• Save staff time for more value-added tasks

• Access building information faster, from any connected device

• Increase consistency and reliability of temperature monitoring and reporting

Going digital reduces staff time spent manually checking temperature sensors. Get real-time environmental insights with instant visibility to your building data. The result? Faster decision-making and healthier work spaces.

Consistent with our mission to enable smart workplaces, GlobalDWS helps you elevate your environmental monitoring procedures and improve resident quality of life with connected sensors. Powered by the Internet of Things (IoT), connected sensors offer a fast, scalable, and reliable way to monitor your LTC environment.

We are delighted with the support of the team at GlobalDWS who installed sensors throughout our Home to help us expedite data collection and notify us immediately if there are any areas that need adjustments to ensure resident safety and comfort and also fulfill our legislative requirements.” 

– Monica Klein-Nouri, Executive Director

Meighen Manor Health Centre of the Salvation Army in Canada

Popular Sensors for Senior Living/Healthcare Workplaces:

• Temperature and Humidity Monitoring: know when and where you need to adjust your HVAC system for resident and staff well-being (Ontario LTC residences can more readily comply with O. Reg. 246/22)

• Air Quality Sensors: Monitor CO2, VOCs, and PM2.5 for healthier indoor air

• Cold Storage Monitoring: Ensure food safety and keep medications at required temperatures

• Water Temperature and Leak Detection: Ensure optimal temperatures for bathing; prevent water damage and mold growth

• Fall Detection: Improve resident safety and timeliness of reporting; gather data to develop predictive modelling and fall prevention

• Occupancy & Security Monitoring: Track usage patterns and detect intrusions

• Computer Vision: Detect motion, leverage facial recognition (with permission)

Start your smart monitoring journey today!

GlobalDWS offers a range of sensor packages starting from as little as $5,000. We invite you to take the first step in your journey to enabling a smart workplace to benefit residents and staff! Our VP, Sales & Marketing, Lee St James, will be happy to prepare a proposal customized for your needs. Simply submit the contact form on our website or book a Teams virtual meeting with Lee at a time that is convenient for you.

RESOURCES:

GlobalDWS Flyers: IoT Overview Connected Sensors for LTC

Government Resource: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/220246 

Below we provide the Air Temperature section of Ontario's "Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021"  for easy reference:

Air temperature 

24. (1) Every licensee of a long-term care home shall ensure that the home is maintained at a minimum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 24 (1). 

(2) Every licensee of a long-term care home shall ensure that the temperature is measured and documented in writing, at a minimum in the following areas of the home: 

1. At least two resident bedrooms in different parts of the home. 

2. One resident common area on every floor of the home, which may include a lounge, dining area or corridor. 

3. Every designated cooling area, if there are any in the home. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 24 (2). 

(3) The temperature required to be measured under subsection (2) shall be documented at least once every morning, once every afternoon between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. and once every evening or night. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 24 (3). 

(4) In addition to the requirements in subsection (2), the licensee shall ensure that, for every resident bedroom in which air conditioning is not installed, operational and in good working order, the temperature is measured and documented in writing once a day in the afternoon between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. on, 

(a) every day during the period of May 15 to September 15; and 

(b) every other day during which the outside temperature forecasted by Environment and Climate Change Canada for the area in which the home is located is 26 degrees Celsius or above at any point during the day. O. Reg. 178/24, s. 6. 

(5) The licensee shall keep a record of the measurements documented under subsections (2), (3) and (4) for at least one year. O. Reg. 246/22, s. 24 (5).