In Saskatchewan, rural residents face limited services and staff shortages, contributing to longer wait times and travel for specialized care. The Virtual Health Hub (VHH) in Saskatoon, housed at the Whitecap Dakota Nation, aims to bridge these gaps by delivering healthcare remotely through a purpose-built facility and advanced remote presence technologies.
The VHH teams with local providers and uses remote presence tools to bring high-quality care closer to patients, reducing the hours spent traveling to a city hospital.
In partnership with the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), the VHH offers a Virtual Care Assistant certificate program. Graduates support clinicians delivering remote care in clinical settings, elevating the roles beyond general digital navigators.
Technologies include AI, point-of-care analyzers, robotic ultrasonography, wearables, telepresence devices, and remote patient monitoring sensors—delivered and operated by SaskTel, a pioneer in Canada’s fiber industry. Canada faces a gap of about 70,000 healthcare workers nationwide, according to Mendez.
Beyond patient access, the hub reduces unnecessary child transports and CT scans, enabling prenatal imaging closer to home and creating community-based point-of-care capabilities. For a group of 2,000 Indigenous individuals in Saskatchewan, annual patient-transport costs amount to roughly CAN$106 million; shifting to remote care changes the economics, with studies showing a 63% drop in pediatric transports and an ROI of roughly four to five times the cost of robotic tools used for remote diagnostics.
Fiber’s three paths to better healthcare are: in-home, remote caregiver support, and enhanced local clinics. Secure, low-latency broadband enables in-home care and supports caregivers; robust networks back remote consultations; and new apps expand care delivery at clinics and hospitals.
In the United States, AR/VR and wearables are enabling home-based wellness and therapy. The Department of Veterans Affairs has deployed at least 3,500 AR/VR headsets across more than 170 clinical sites to support mindfulness and wellness, with veterans continuing VR exercises at home using personal equipment.
As the global longevity economy grows—estimated at $45 trillion—wellness tech and AI-driven care from AgeTech Collaborative aim to help people live independently longer. The U.S. home healthcare market is projected to rise from $107 billion in 2025 to $176 billion by 2032, with home health aides expanding by about 17% from 2024 to 2044. This trajectory underscores fiber as the backbone for today’s and tomorrow’s healthcare needs.