An innovative initiative in collaboration with the Montreal-based company Airudi will free up nurses' time and improve patient care.
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) today launched ENACT (Empowering Nurses with AI for Care Transformation), an innovative initiative to transform nursing care by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. The announcement was made at ALL IN, Canada's largest artificial intelligence event, held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
Developed in collaboration with Montreal-based firm Airudi, ENACT will be designed to simplify administrative processes, optimize workforce planning and give nurses back time to focus on what matters most: direct patient care. The project, which is entering its design phase today, will be rolled out gradually through 2026.
"The ENACT tool will allow us to demonstrate how technological innovation can add value to the human experience, both for staff and for patients and their families. By freeing up nurses' time, we are improving the quality and safety of the care we provide to our patients," said Dr. Lucie Opatrny, President and Executive Director of the MUHC.
Rethinking the nursing workload
An internal study conducted in 2024 revealed that nurses spent too much of their shift away from their patients' bedsides, as their daily routine also involved writing documents, communicating with the team, studying files, preparing nursing reports, and performing other administrative tasks. Considering the study's findings, the MUHC wanted to rebalance indirect and direct care so that nursing teams could devote more time to the patient and family experience. ENACT will therefore provide them with smart tools accessible on new mobile workstations (WOW - Workstations on wheels), which will enable them to:
- ensure fair patient assignment across the team, based on each nurse's expertise and the complexity of cases;
- support task delegation and prioritization, and facilitate documentation; and
- generate end-of-shift reports to enable safe and effective handovers.
These solutions were defined during co-creation sessions with clinical teams, particularly on the pilot unit of the 12th floor (Trauma and Orthopedics) at the Montreal General Hospital.
Development guided by nursing expertise
Beyond these pilot sessions, ENACT is being developed in close collaboration with MUHC nurses, whose experience and clinical priorities ensure that the tools are practical, relevant, and supportive of their daily practice.
"This project is aligned with our vision of sustainable, collaborative and valued nursing practice. ENACT is not intended to replace nurses, but to provide them with powerful tools to better support their clinical decisions and daily work. In practical terms, we would like to give each nurse an extra hour per week at the patient's bedside," says Alain Biron, Director of Nursing at the MUHC.
"We are proud to contribute to this project, which perfectly illustrates how artificial intelligence can be integrated ethically and sustainably into the healthcare environment. Together, we are creating concrete solutions that reflect the real needs of healthcare teams," says Pape Wade, co-founder and CEO of Airudi.
Innovation at the service of patients
ENACT will be deployed in several phases starting in September 2025. Modules will be tested beginning in November 2025 at the Montreal General Hospital, with full implementation scheduled for December 2026.
With ENACT, the MUHC is asserting itself as a leader in healthcare innovation and reaffirming its commitment to putting technology at the service of healthcare professionals and, ultimately, patients.
The project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and Scale AI, which are enabling this transformation in nursing care.
