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Communications

From Colleagues to Co-Founders: The Bridge Medical Communications Story

Lorie Spence and Carolyn Pritchard founded Bridge Medical Communications, which was built to fill the patient and healthcare provider gap in the healthcare system.

With a combined 40 years in Business and Healthcare Comms, Lorie and Carolyn witnessed the challenges facing the industry. This ignited their passion to bridge the gap between the industry and patients. Bridge’s vision is to empower healthcare professionals to optimize patient outcomes through innovative communication tools, creative solutions, and strategic collaboration. With their unique expertise.

The fundamentals of evidence-based medicine have the power to improve and change lives dramatically. Bridge’s core focus is to optimize the impact of medical innovations with specialized communications that are clear and impactful. They strive to make a positive and enduring impact on patient-centred care, helping their clients excel in our “new normal” with virtual education and engagement strategies. Bridge Medical Communications was founded on the fundamental belief that medical innovations and the established principles of evidence-based medicine possess the power to save and change countless lives for the better. Through over thirty years of collective experience within the specialized healthcare space, the founders observed complex challenges facing a quickly evolving industry; these issues could no longer be ignored or simply tolerated. Consequently, Lorie and Carolyn set out intentionally to address these persistent challenges by starting a dedicated boutique medical communications consultancy back in 2012.

The business is, genuinely, at its heart, about bridging the critical gap between the innovative industry and the actual patient population. The team believes wholeheartedly that specialized communications directed toward healthcare professionals play an absolutely pivotal role in successfully optimizing the potential impact of medical innovations across the entire healthcare landscape and—ultimately—on the individual patient’s life and health journey. Their defined mission is to transform the entire healthcare landscape through specialized communications delivered precisely to healthcare practitioners and purposefully make change through comprehensive information, essential education, and proactive engagement. Their defined purpose is to bridge the inherent gap between emerging industry innovations and frontline healthcare professionals to make a deeply positive and enduring impact on patient-centred care practices.

The dedicated specialists come from strong medical and science backgrounds, ensuring they completely “get” the technical, complex side of the client’s work and support it robustly with highly-trained, articulate communications specialists. This comprehensive approach is designed to achieve the necessary, measurable effect and desirable outcomes, effectively working to inform, educate, and truly engage the target audience. They are connected and fully informed, knowing all key stakeholders in the dynamic healthcare ecosystem: including practicing physicians, influential key opinion leaders, regulatory bodies, important patient associations, and necessary media organizations. Bridge is further supported by an established team of expert advisors and reliable partners working across a multitude of diverse therapeutic areas, including life-saving oncology, critical respiratory care, vital cardiovascular health, specialized medical cannabis therapies, and many more key areas. With deep access to critical, proprietary insights, current data, and fundamental research materials, the entire organization effectively has its finger securely on the pulse of modern healthcare practice.

The team prides itself on being astute and adaptable. They know exactly when to be technical and when to adopt a more creative approach. They know precisely when to optimize a strategy and when to minimize complexity. This vital quality allows the firm to make substantially more accurate decisions, execute all campaigns effectively and efficiently, reliably increase margins of success for their clients, and ensure a genuinely greater, lasting impact. When a client needs to reach their specific healthcare practitioner audience to fully optimize the significant impact of their medical innovation and valuable solutions—they can confidently turn to Bridge. From high-level consultancy and essential education programs to targeted, professional communication tactics, their proven, customized solutions are specifically designed and tailored to perfectly fit all client needs and desired goals. They boast a great, diverse portfolio of satisfied clients, spanning many critical industries: including major PHARMACEUTICAL corporations, advanced BIOTECH firms, influential MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATIONS, respected MEDICAL SOCIETIES, and key THERAPEUTIC PATIENT ASSOCIATIONS. The team members engage daily with patients and healthcare professionals to navigate deeply complex challenges through innovative medical communications tactics, always employing a human-centered approach. They deliver science-driven communications that effectively support healthcare professionals, strongly empower individual patients, and reliably spark better outcomes through absolute clarity and genuine connection, fostering creative thinking, innovative problem-solving techniques, and a relentless pursuit of improvement for all tools and solutions offered.


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Be patient, it is a journey

Adam Hislop creates videos and movies that help people communicate clearly and effectively. Along with the rest of his team at Atomic Spark, he produces commercials, brand films, promotional videos, website videos, and training materials.

And he’s been doing it successfully for the past twenty five years – so he has some great stories to tell us.


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How Purpose-Driven Brands Win With Great PR

Cathy Cowan is an entrepreneurial success in marketing communications. With more than two decades of agency leadership, she collaborates with nonprofits, agencies, and socially conscious businesses to create communications that drive meaningful change.

She began her career actually working for me and then moved to non profits and PR agencies including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, Weber Shandwick and GCI Group, honing my expertise in strategy, management and gold-standard communications. She founded Cowan & Company Communications, a full-service marketing communications agency, where for nearly 20 years led award-winning campaigns and social impact communications for top-tier brands including L’Oréal Paris, Kraft, Jamieson Vitamins and Food Banks Canada. Her work earned more than 15 industry awards, and Cowan & Company was named IABC Toronto’s “Boutique PR Agency of the Year” four times between 2007 and 2017.

Cathy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment, Board of Advisors for Women’s Nonprofit Network and volunteer as a mentor and Ovation Awards judge for IABC Toronto.

She now focuses all skills and passion for “doing good” at C&C Consulting where she leads integrated marketing communications for nonprofits and corporate social impact programs. Her continual goal is to help purpose-driven organizations transform their communications and maximize their social impact.


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Dating Disrupted: A Business That Brings People Together

Kavita is one of the world’s top dating psychology coaches for men and the founder of Dashing Date. Based in Montreal, she brings over 13 years of experience helping men navigate modern dating with confidence and success. She’s the resident dating expert on Breakfast Television and has been featured in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and Global News.

Phone: +1 (514) 967-7818
Website: https://go.dashingdate.com/home
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavitaajwani/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DashingDate/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dashingdate/


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A mission of helping women solopreneurs

The combination of getting fired shortly after a failed marriage made Vera Ilnyckyj feel like a complete failure, purposeless, disconnected and stuck.

She’s grateful for this challenging time because it was the start of discovering her purpose – helping other women get back on track after a major life change.

Ultimately, it led Vera to leave her corporate job and step into her business full time. While she had no training on how to run a business and no formal plan, what she did have was a deep desire to help and inspire others, create belonging, and empower people to take action towards their goals.

A major learning that Vera has had as an entrepreneur is the realization that intense inner work is required to step into a new version of yourself. As a result, she’s developed tools, resources and practices that support self-trust, confidence, resilience, mindset and intuition, along with strategies to support discipline, consistency, goal-setting, marketing, sales and business growth.

Today, Vera’s approach combines the spiritual and the material in order to create impact and income. Her mission is to help women solopreneurs live a genuine, fulfilled and positive life through their business. Vera believes we’re not meant to be on this journey alone which is why she’s committed to uplifting others in community – through her mastermind success collective, in-person and online workshops, retreats, speaking, her podcast, blogs, videos or social channels.

Learn more about Vera and her work: www.createyourbestchapter.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createyourbestchapter/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verailnyckyj/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@createyourbestchapter
Website: https://www.createyourbestchapter.com/


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Understanding the greatest human need and key to engagement

Maria deBruijn is a leadership expert, facilitator, and CEO with over two decades of experience helping organizations cultivate engaged and high-performing teams. deBruijn holds a Master’s degree in Communications and Technology from the University of Alberta, where her research focused on the impact of technology on engagement. deBruijn’s debut book, Understood: The Greatest Human Need and the Key to Engagement, is a compilation of the most valuable insights from her years of experience in the leadership and engagement space.


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Tobyn Sowden – EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 – Regional Award Winner

Phil Bliss, Founder of Canada’s Podcast interviews Tobyn Sowden after receiving the Award November 26, 2024.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year National Award winners:

Tobyn Sowden | Redbrick (Pacific)

Denis Jones | Deveraux Group of Companies (Prairies)

Clive Kinross | Propel Holdings (Ontario)

Hakan Uluer | The Bertossi Group (Atlantic)

Ken Harris | Plusgrade (Québec)

National Honouree Citations:

Jeff Dirks | KBL Environmental Ltd.

Terry Raymond | Fire & Flood Emergency Services Ltd. 

Mina Mekhail | Freshr Sustainable Technologies Inc.

The Canadian entrepreneurs in the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America Class of 2024 and the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network Canadian Class of 2024 were also honoured at the awards show. These programs support high-potential women entrepreneurs and Black and Indigenous leaders by providing access to networks, advisors, learning and resources to help scale their businesses. All three entrepreneur programs are part of EY’s 30-year commitment to fostering entrepreneurship in Canada at every stage of the growth journey.

The 2024 National independent judging panel comprised Tania Clarke, Corporate Director; Andreea Crisan, President and CEO, ANDY Transport; Arlene Dickinson, General Partner, District Ventures Capital; Joanna Griffiths, Founder and President, Knix and Kt by Knix; Ashif Mawji, Managing Director, ScaleGood Fund LP; Kristi Miller, Managing Partner, Krystal Growth Partners; Imran Siddiqui, Managing Director, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

This year’s program national sponsors are TSX Inc., Air Canada, The Printing House, The Globe and Mail and Hillberg & Berk.

 


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L’importance de l’authenticité, la résilience et la détermination en entrepreneurship

Cynthia Daoust https://www.linkedin.com/in/spheria/ conjugue un BACC en animation et gestion culturelle à son expérience d’entrepreneure en production d’événements à son compte depuis plus de 30 ans. Elle a conçu, de toutes pièces, plus de 500 événements clé en main dans sa carrière et a géré des événements d’envergure nationale, des événements d’affaires internationales et des événements grand public.

Elle a fondée en 2003 Sphéria Événements, https://www.spheria.ca/ une firme d’expertise en production d’événements corporatif clé en main sur mesure. Et, elle est productrice de ses propres événements-maison Les Bals de Noël Sphéria des PME qui font fureur depuis 2007.
Aussi auteure du livre Sortie du Bois, un guide de stratégies clés, de questions concrètes et de méthodes éprouvées qui non seulement peuvent aider une personne à se sortir d’un tourbillon dépressif, mais aussi réduire les chances de revivre un épisode aussi dramatique.


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Entrepreneurs are the driving force behind Canada’s economy, and we’re here to support them every step of the way. For exclusive insights, tips, and success stories from Canada’s top business leaders, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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Your business can get a $2,400 grant

Ilya Goldman, has been in the internet marketing industry since 1996. He started his own web design and online marketing company in 2001 with a goal of bringing more businesses into the world wide web. He has worked on over a thousand web projects. His clients include huge organizations such as UBC Press, McGill Press, as well as very small companies with self-employed individuals. He is also certified by both Google and Microsoft. He has a wealth of knowledge on web design and online marketing through nearly 2 decades in this field. Whenever he works with clients he wants them to be aware of anything that would be helpful to them such as specific business grants for up to $15,000 and $2400 for digital presence.


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The art of storytelling is key for communications and media industries

Gary Lamphier, Principal of Lamphier Communications, was a business journalist for 34 years at various major international, national and regional newspapers. He covered virtually all major industries and key companies in Canada. He’s been a corporate communications consultant for more than 10 years. He explains the importance of storytelling in both these industries and discusses the Alberta economy.


Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

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