Safety Den 2026

Safety Den is a Dragons’ Den-inspired event showcasing ideas from people like you, working and supporting long term care who are passionate about improving workplace health and safety.

Do you have an idea or innovation that will help prevent workplace injuries and improve the health and safety of long-term care workers?

The perfect mix of entertainment and education, the show highlights safety innovations in the continuing care sector.

Present your innovative safety ideas to a panel of "Dragons"

Three finalists from each category will be invited to present a two-minute pitch to our DRAGONS (judges) at the conference during a 60-minute session with delegates cheering you on.

Convince the DRAGONs that your idea is the best and you can win monetary prizes or bragging rights for the year!

**Don't forget presenters get free registration to attend the conference including lunch**

Need some inspiration? Watch the Videos below!

Our 2025 Safety Den Judges

Cory Szcaepanksi

Coming soon

Lanette Siragusa

Lanette Siragusa is the Vice-Dean Education and Assistant Professor in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. She holds both a Bachelor of Nursing and a Master of Nursing from the University of Manitoba and has completed additional studies at Royal Roads University and Rotman’s School of Business.

Lanette has previously held roles within the healthcare system across Manitoba including with Shared Health as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and Incident Commander for the COVID-19 Pandemic Response. She has worked in a variety of nursing roles involving research, education and clinical care, including 12 years as a Labour and Delivery Nurse.

Lanette is deeply committed to community service and humanitarian work. She actively volunteers locally and internationally as well as supports healthcare leadership through mentorship and coaching.

Ron Van Denakker

Ron Van Denakker holds a master’s degree in health care administration and brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in health care management. His background spans acute care, community health, and system level planning, with particular interest in chronic disease, health care costs, and vulnerable populations. Known as a strategic leader and skilled relationship builder, he has led operational, strategic, and business planning throughout his career. Ron currently serves as Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Safety in Healthcare, where he helped lead the development and approval of Manitoba’s industry wide safety program.

Jane MacKay

Jane MacKay is the Vice President of Human Resources at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, bringing extensive senior leadership experience across both the private and public sectors in Canada and the United States. She has held roles with major organizations including Petro-Canada, Coca-Cola, and MCI.

Within the healthcare sector, Jane has served as Executive Director of Human Resources at Grace Hospital and as Chief Human Resources Officer at Health Sciences Centre (HSC).

She holds an ICD.D designation and contributes her expertise through several governance and advisory roles. Jane serves on the Manitoba Appeal Commission for the Workers Compensation Board, is a Trustee with the Healthcare Employees’ Benefits Board (HEB), and is an approved conciliator and grievance mediator with the Manitoba Labour Board. She is also a Board Member of the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

Highlights from Safety Den 2025

How it Works

Have an idea that makes the workplace safer in long-term care? We want to hear about it! Submit your innovation to the Safety Den competition at the LTCAM Conference and show us how it’s making a real impact on workplace safety.

Fill out the registration form below:

Pick your category: Are you entering under Workplace Safety Innovation or Commercial Safety Innovation? (We definitely need this!)
Give your innovation a name: What's the title of your brilliant idea?
Tell us all about it: Describe your innovation and why it’s awesome.
Highlight the benefits: What improvements does your innovation bring?
Share the impact: Tell us how your innovation has made a difference.
Got something extra? Let us know anything else we should be excited about!

If you've got a video of your innovation in action, send it our way! We'd love to see it!

When you're all set, hit submit, and you're good to go!

Our LTCAM Safety Den committee will review all submissions, and the top 2 from each category will get to present at Safety Den 2026 during our Annual Conference.

Workplace Safety Innovation

Open to workplaces that provide care & services to seniors in Manitoba. Pitch your innovative safety idea to the "Dragons." No idea is too small! We want to hear from employers, workers, and workplace safety and health committees.

Three ideas will be pitched to the Dragons.

First Prize $1,000

Second Prize $500