When receiving care at Humber River Health (Humber), it is easy to see that the heart of the Hospital is its people – the staff, physicians, and volunteers who work tirelessly to deliver safe, equitable care in their community. Working alongside Humber’s extraordinary people is Canada’s first and most comprehensive Hospital Command Centre. Located at the heart of Humber, this NASA-styled “mission control” room works behind the scenes to help make every patient’s experience better, faster, and safer.  

As a centralized operating system, the Command Centre monitors, measures, and analyzes for risk, allowing proactive interventions that lead to better patient outcomes. It informs decision-makers to facilitate action, identify opportunities for improvement in real time, and supports intervention before an adverse health event. 

In its first year alone, the Command Centre significantly enhanced patient flow, saving the equivalent of 35 hospital beds. Through reduced length of stay and patient flow optimization, more capacity was created without additional costs or new beds. The introduction of the Command Centre has resulted in a 34 per cent reduction in wait times for inpatient diagnostics, and a 38 per cent decrease in wait times for specific diagnostic test results which also helps create capacity to assist Humber’s Apotex Emergency Department (ED), Ontario’s busiest ED, treat patients quickly and effectively. 

Despite having the busiest emergency department in Ontario, Humber has the reputation of being one of the safest hospitals in Canada. The proof is in the numbers: 66 per cent fewer cases of hospital harm than the provincial average, a 10 per cent year-over-year reduction in sepsis cases, a 40 per cent year-over-year decrease in code blues, and the list goes on – all made possible through Humber’s Command Centre automation and clinical support. 

At Humber, technology is not a luxury, but a necessity. They are lighting new ways in healthcare – and are just getting started.