Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 146
146
( 2025 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
Unity Health Toronto uses high-tech to ease stress
H
ealth care is arguably
one of the most
stressful of industries
– one where lives
depend on decisions made. Now, Unity Health
Toronto is using technology,
including artificial intelligence
and advanced simulation, to alleviate some of that stress among
employees.
“New health care workers are
thrown into very complex environments,” says Unity Health Toronto
simulation manager Lindsay
Beavers. “Opportunities for experiential learning during an event
like a code situation don’t come
very often. It’s a huge confidence
boost if you can practise first on
a mannequin instead of a real
patient, with an experienced team
around you to help you learn.”
Setting up complex simulation
experiences, with mannequins,
elaborate set designs, virtual
reality tools and other technology
may sound futuristic, but for Unity
Health Toronto it’s old hat. As one
of Ontario’s largest health-care
networks, Unity Health Toronto
includes St. Joseph’s Health
Centre, Providence Healthcare
and St. Michael’s Hospital
and is a pioneer in simulation
training in Canada, launching
its program in 1996. Today, Unity
Health Toronto’s state-of-the-art
simulation program trains more
than 5,000 health profession
learners, hospital administrators
and support staff every year.
The program supports hospital teams by creating realistic
learning environments to practise
a range of skills, says Beavers.
The simulations offer realistic
scenarios, like a simulation lab
set-dressed to look like a bachelor
apartment, all to teach public
health workers how to deal with
drug overdoses.
“We use simulation to teach
health care workers how to do
their jobs better,” Beavers says.
“We use it to conduct research so
we can understand things better.
We even use it to help design new,
better workspaces at the hospitals.
“The simulation program sets us
apart,” she says. “It provides clinicians, administrators and leaders
with the opportunity to design the
spaces and influence the processes
and policies where they work. The
culture is enhanced, and everyone
feels like they’re part of it.”
“We must have happy,
fulfilled staff if we’re
going to provide excellent
clinical services. To make
that happen, we’ve really
prioritized the way we think
about our staff, our training,
our support.”
— Dr. Tim Rutledge
President and CEO
Unity Health Toronto trains over 6,000 health professionals in more than 30 disciplines annually.
Dr. Tim Rutledge, president and
CEO of Unity Health Toronto,
says that in addition to the
simulation program, new artificial
intelligence tools are helping to
reduce employee stress. Unity
Health Toronto has developed
and deployed over 50 AI solutions,
including tools to ease administrative burdens on staff.
“We have a ton of AI solutions – products that are helping
us reduce wait times, improve
treatments, make medicine more
precise, improve health outcomes
and save lives,” he says. “We’re
one of the leading organizations
