Unity Health Toronto

02/06/2026

Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO of Unity Health Toronto, and Dr. Andrew Beckett, Trauma Surgeon and Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, stopped by the Moss Park Armoury to meet with 25 Field Ambulance, which provides essential health services during training, exercises, and operations.

Unity Health is a leader in trauma, critical care, emergency preparedness training and rehabilitation, and is excited to explore opportunities to collaborate with and support the Canadian Armed Forces and units like the 25 Field Ambulance.

02/05/2026

February marks Black History Month. At Unity Health Toronto, we are honoured to spotlight the voices and leadership of Black colleagues whose work continues to advance the care we deliver.

Their lived experiences guide our progress and deepen our commitment to equity. In this spotlight, we asked our colleagues who has had the biggest influence on their journey, and what lessons still guide them today.

Click the link to read the full Q&A: https://unityhealth.to/2026/02/perspectives-from-black-leaders-advancing-care-at-unity-health/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260205-black-leaders

02/02/2026

We’re honoured to share the story of Father Boris Hemon—an ordained Catholic priest and registered psychotherapist—who has spent the past 25 years supporting patients, families, and staff at St. Joseph’s Health Centre.

Father Boris embodies the spirit of care, compassion, and connection at Unity Health Toronto. His work reminds us that healing happens not only through medicine, but through listening, presence, and human connection.

Read Father Boris’ story and learn how he continues to make a difference every day:
https://unityhealth.to/2025/10/compassion-without-judgement/

This story recognizes National Catholic Health Care Week and the people and teams who provide compassionate care in our communities.

01/30/2026

A message from Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO of Unity Health Toronto, in advance of Black History Month.

"As we mark the start of Black History Month, we have an important opportunity to honour the experiences, achievements and contributions of Black people and communities to the history, impact and growth of Canada. We also have an opportunity to reflect on the work that still needs to be done to address the persistent challenges of anti-Black racism and inequity, in health care and beyond.

When I joined Unity Health Toronto last summer, I quickly learned how committed the organization is to our work towards anti-racism, equity and social accountability. As many organizations in Canada and abroad deprioritize equity, diversity and inclusion programs, Unity Health continues to lean in. The work we do in this space isn’t just a priority; it’s a core value that continues to be embedded in every aspect of our operations, from patient care to staff experiences to community engagement."

Click the link to read the full message:
https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/how-unity-health-continues-to-lean-into-our-work-towards-anti-black-racism/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260130-black-history

01/30/2026

Every month, staff, researchers, physicians, learners and teams across Unity Health Toronto celebrate important honours, achievements and awards. Congratulations to all who’ve been recognized in January!

Click the link to learn more: https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/january-2026-honour-roll/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260130-honour-roll

01/29/2026

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬. 🎉

Yesterday staff, physicians, learners, volunteers and patient family partners came together to celebrate the 2026 Our Shared Values Awards on Providence Mission Day.

These outstanding teams and individuals have been recognized for going above and beyond to embody Unity Health’s values of human dignity, compassion, excellence, community and inclusivity.

Click the link to read their stories in the words of those who nominated them: https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/providence-our-shared-values-awards-2026/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260129-providence-OSV

01/28/2026

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬, 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫, 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡’𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞

For nearly three years Astrid Amador has been volunteering at St. Joseph’s Health Centre.

Whether it’s helping patients get to and from their appointments, assisting them through the registration process or simply greeting them with a warm smile, Amador enjoys making their experience a little less stressful.

“The best part of being a volunteer is feeling like I have contributed to making a patient’s potentially stressful hospital visit more accessible and enjoyable,” said Amador, a full time graduate student at the University of Toronto.

“I like interacting with patients, making them feel welcome, and showing them that someone is there to support them throughout their visit.”

St. Joseph’s currently has a total of 108 volunteers of which 23 are post-secondary youth volunteers. In the summertime that number is bolstered by 30 additional post-secondary and high school student volunteers.

“So many patients have told me their visit would have been so much more stressful if one of us hadn’t been there,” said Amador. “To me, that’s what makes volunteering worth it.”

Click the link to learn more: : https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/caring-hearts-leading-minds-astrid-amador/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260128-CHLM-Amador

01/27/2026

St. Michael’s Hospital recently marked the 60th anniversary of its pharmacy residency program, one of the first and longest-running programs in the country. Since 1964, the program has prepared more than 70 residents through as 12 month learning experience aimed at preparing pharmacists for challenging practice in institutional and ambulatory care environments.

01/26/2026

Thank you to members of the Ministry of Health's Capital Branch for visiting our St. Joseph’s site last week.

Our team had the pleasure of giving a tour and sharing updates on plans for a new, state-of-the-art patient care tower on the southeast corner of our campus. This tower will replace aging infrastructure, expand capacity, and deliver connected, inclusive care for our growing west-end community through both digital and physical transformation.

We’re grateful to the Capital Branch and all our Ministry partners for their ongoing support of St. Joseph’s.

01/23/2026

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨.

Today, we’re celebrating two major milestones in digital health at Unity Health Toronto.

Our teams have achieved HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)
Stage 6 validation at all three of Unity Health sites which places us among an elite group of health systems in the world.

�� EMRAM Stage 6 recognizes excellence in how we use the EMR (Electronic Medical Records) at the bedside to support high-quality patient care.

�� AMAM Stage 6 highlights our strength in using data and analytics to make smart clinical
decisions.

This achievement comes just one year after the launch of Epic, our new electronic patient record system that improves care experiences for patients, families and care teams.

Thank you to our clinicians for embracing digital tools and for keeping our patients at the heart
of everything we do.

Click the link to learn more: https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/himss-validation/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260122-HIMSS-validation

01/20/2026

Thank you to Maggie Chi [tag], MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, for visiting our St. Michael’s site to learn about our data and AI health solutions.

Dr. Fahad Razak showcased about GEMINI, the largest hospital data system in Canada with clinical data from 40+ Ontario hospitals, and VITAL, the 2.0 version of GEMINI that will expand across Canada and create access to near real-time health data to fuel improvements and innovation to clinical care.

She also had a chance to see how real AI tools are making an impact with:
1) CHARTWatch: Dr. Amol Verma demonstrated an AI tool that predicts if an admitted patient’s health will decline so the care team can intervene – reducing unplanned mortality by 26%
2) ASIST-TBI: Drs. Alun Ackery and Christopher Witiw presented an algorithm that reviews head CT scans in the ED and can identify if a patient has an brain bleed within 2 minutes – saving precious time when it matters most

Learn more: https://unityhealth.to/about-unity-health/ai-at-unity-health/

01/14/2026

“More than just getting the shot, my work is about building trust and real connections.” 📸

Go behind the scenes with Unity Health Toronto photographer Katie Cooper as she reflects on her favourite photo shoots of 2025. 🙌

Click the link to read the full story.: https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/top-10-photos-of-the-year/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260114-top-photos

01/13/2026

𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡’𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞.

From epidemiology to geriatrics, addiction medicine to palliative care, our Emergency Department brings diverse skills together to deliver excellent care to Toronto’s west end.

👉 Read the story behind the team: https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/changing-the-face-of-emergency-care/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260113-sjhc-ed

01/12/2026

Despite advancements in surgical techniques and patient safety, a new study suggests that where a patient lives significantly impacts their chances of surviving after an operation.

Researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital found a strong association between lower-neighbourhood income and a higher risk of postoperative mortality. This study shows that patients from the lowest-income areas had a 43% higher chance of dying within 30 days of surgery compared to those from the highest-income areas.

“Even in a universal health care system, not everyone faces the same risks when they come to a hospital for surgery,” says Dr. Ashwin Sankar, scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and lead author of the study.

Click the link to read the full story: https://unityhealth.to/2026/01/risk-of-death-after-surgery-higher-for-residents-of-low-income-neighbourhoods/?&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=260112-surgery

JAMA Network Open

01/09/2026

Celebrating Shirley Bell! 🎉

After more than 35 years of inspiring nurses and shaping patient care, Shirley is retiring from her role as clinical nurse educator at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Her dedication, love for teaching, and commitment to compassionate, collaborative, and patient-centred care have made an impact and inspired generations of nurses — truly reflecting the values of Unity Health Toronto. 💜

Join us in honoring Shirley’s incredible career and wishing her all the best in this next chapter!

01/08/2026

01/06/2026

Countdown our top five social media posts of the year!

Take a look back on the posts that YOU found most engaging in 2025.

1. Patients and families at St. Joseph’s Health Centre’s NICU cheered on the Toronto as the team took on the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of the World Series.
2. Heart specialists at St. Michael’s Hospital performed the first commercial procedure for the EVOQUE tricuspid valve replacement in Canada. This minimally-invasive procedure treats leaky tricuspid valves and results in faster recovery. EVOQUE is now commercially available, meaning it can be offered to more patients.
3. In Canada’s first pre-hospital blood transfusion trial, Dr. Brodie Nolan, a trauma physician and scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital, and partners like are working to bring hospital-quality care where it’s needed most for patients across Ontario.
4. In July we were pleased to announce the appointment of Altaf Stationwala as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity Health Toronto.
5. Meet Liz Butorac, recipient of the Ontario Health, Trillium Gift of Life Network’s Provincial Donation Champion Award.

We’ve shared links to all five posts in the comments. Let us know which is your favorite!