A generous $500,000 donation from RBC Foundation made through the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF) is helping transform health-care training at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC).
The gift will elevate patient care by expanding KHSC’s state-of-the-art simulation training program, which allows doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to practice medical scenarios in a safe, controlled environment before transferring the learning to actual patient care.
A Lasting Impact on Patient Care
“The support from the RBC Foundation will have a direct and lasting impact on patient care across southeastern Ontario,” said Jason Hann, Executive Vice President, Patient Care & Chief Nursing Executive and Regional Vice President, Cancer Care, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario). “This investment helps health-care teams practice together, refine critical skills and improve how they work in complex situations before patients are involved. Over time, this leads to safer care, stronger teams and better outcomes for the patients and communities KHSC serves.”
RBC Foundation’s Vision: Strengthening Health Care for All
“This donation from the RBC Foundation will help KHSC strengthen staff preparedness and enhance patient care outcomes,” says Devinder Gill, RBC’s Regional President for Ontario North and East. “This is an example of how RBC is helping equip people to grow or reskill for a thriving future.”
This is one of several major commitments the RBC Foundation has made to health care in the region through UHKF in the past 20 years
In 2007, they pledged $350,000 to adolescent mental health at the Kingston General Hospital site, along with $100,000 to the Hotel Dieu Hospital site to establish the RBC FACT Lending Library, providing children with learning disabilities and mental health disorders access to specialized, adaptive technology to support academic success.
In 2021, the foundation contributed $100,000 to the Youth Mental Health Intensive Day Program at KHSC. Together with numerous additional gifts and ongoing event support, RBC’s total giving to KHSC will exceed $1 million after this latest pledge.
A Growing Program with a Significant Purpose
KHSC's simulation program first launched in 2023, initially within the Critical Care program before expansion across the organization. Later this year, KHSC will unveil a permanent simulation lab at the Hotel Dieu Hospital site.
Hann emphasized that simulation labs are common in medical schools, but less common within Canadian hospitals, making KHSC’s growing program particularly significant.
“Embedding this capability within a hospital is important because it allows teams to train in the same environment where they deliver care,” he said. “Staff can practice using the same equipment, workflows and inter-professional team structures they rely on every day to deliver patient care.”
The simulation lab will provide an invaluable space for health-care teams to practice a variety of skills from high-pressure cardiac arrests and pediatric emergencies to medication safety procedures, patient handovers and communication during stressful situations.
Building Confidence Through Practice
Heather Mackulin, KHSC’s Interim Director of Professional Practice, shared her enthusiasm for the program’s potential and how the hands-on training environment helps health-care teams build confidence, improving performance in ways traditional classroom learning cannot.
“Simulation allows teams to practice high-risk, low-frequency events in a safe environment before encountering them in real patient care,” Heather said. “By participating in simulations, teams build confidence, reduce variables in clinical practice and improve response times, leading to better patient outcomes.”
She added that the RBC Foundation’s gift is “a transformational investment” that will help KHSC purchase new simulation equipment, enhance technology and build a sustainable program that will reach staff in every corner of the organization.
“We are incredibly grateful to the RBC Foundation for their generous investment in the future of health care at KHSC,” Mackulin said. “This gift is more than funding. It is an investment in safer care, stronger teams and better outcomes for the patients and families we serve.”
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