Ep. 34: IHTR: Championing Disability Inclusion in the Health Care Sector

2025-06-17

It’s definitely no secret — there’s a general labour shortage in Canada that’s going to last until about 2030. It’s affecting just about every sector. Perhaps none more than the health care sector. There’s a labour crisis in the sector that’s affecting — among other things in hospitals, wait times in emergency rooms; and often whether some smaller communities even have an open ER or hospital at all. So what’s to be done about the staffing crisis in pretty much every hospital in every province? And how do people who have a disability...

There’s a labour crisis in the sector that’s affecting — among other things in hospitals, wait times in emergency rooms; and often whether some smaller communities even have an open ER or hospital at all.

So what’s to be done about the staffing crisis in pretty much every hospital in every province? And how do people who have a disability, and disability-inclusive hiring, fit into this?

There’s a new initiative in Ontario aimed at solving the hiring, training and retention crisis in the health care sector. In Ontario, at least. It’s aptly named Inspire, Hire, Train, Retain. Or, IHTR for short. It’s a disability-inclusive hiring “training in the box” solution.

It’s a collaborative initiative led by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto.

Our two guests for this episode are deeply and intrinsically involved in spearheading the development of IHTR. Catch this dynamic, engaging conversation with:

Laura Bowman, Project Manager, Research and Evaluation at Holland Bloorview
Lori Riding, Manager of Disability and Absences Management at Halton Healthcare in Oakville, ON

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