Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores), one of Canada’s leading mental and behavioral health organization, has been recognized as a 2025 HIMSS Davies Award recipient. Ontario Shores is the first mental health care hospital to be recognized with the Davies Award a second time and only the second Canadian organization of any kind to receive a Davies Award twice since the Award’s inception in 1994.

Based in Whitby, Ontario, Ontario Shores is a public teaching hospital that provides specialized assessment and treatment services for people living with complex and serious mental illness. The hospital serves a region of more than three million people, with 346 inpatient beds, over 100,000 outpatient visits per year, 25 specialty clinics and four community clinics.

Leveraging a variety of digital solutions, Ontario Shores improved care and safety outcomes, patient experience and staff safety.

Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences Davies Award Case Studies

• Reducing Aggression on Inpatient Mental Health Units
• Empowering Patients Through Digital Tools: Enhancing Portal Access for Better Care and Fewer Missed Appointments
• Restraint and Seclusion Reduction

HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence

The Davies Awards program promotes the HIMSS vision and mission by recognizing and showcasing use cases, model practices and lessons learned on how to improve health and wellness through the power of information and technology. Showcasing healthcare delivery systems, physician practices, community health organizations, long term and post-acute care sites, and public health organizations, the HIMSS Davies Award shares evidence-based case studies that are driving the reform of the global healthcare ecosystem through the power of information and technology.

“This award is a proud moment for our organization and a tribute to the collaboration between our clinicians, digital teams and partners. Together, we’re building a smarter, more connected health system that puts patients and families at the center of everything we do,” says John Chen, President and CEO, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

“Our continued focus on digital transformation and the responsible use of AI will help us drive even greater innovation in the years ahead,” he adds.