Hosted by Providence Research in partnership with St. Paul’s Foundation, this is a unique innovation event designed to tackle the challenges faced by patients and the community when dealing with wounds. This event helps underscore a particular Providence tradition: putting people in the greatest need at the centre of our research priorities. Hacking Wounds is held in collaboration with the Discover, Learn & Innovate for Impact Physician Advisory Committee, Providence Health Innovation, Research + Engagement, and Providence Health Care.

What does skunkworks mean?
The term originated in the 1940s. Skunk Works was an alias for an American engineering lab that worked on top-secret and innovative programs at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Today, the word “skunkworks” describes a project developed by a loosely structured group of people who identify issues and pilot creative solutions.

About this event:
This isn’t your typical conference or seminar. Building off the success of Hacking Pain, we hope our second skunkworks event, Hacking Wounds, will be a catalyst for innovation. There are many challenges around wounds waiting to be solved, but often researchers, health care professionals, caregivers, and patients do not have a chance to collaborate and share expertise to ideate together.

Skunkworks brings multidisciplinary teams together and empowers them with mentorship and rapid problem solving tools to address challenges related to wounds and wound care.