In May of 1899, a group of twenty-two women sat down for tea and formed a committee dedicated to helping sick childeren. The women formed the Home for Incurable Children. Eighteen of the women would become founding members of The Hospital for Sick Children.The Home’s mission statement was, “to receive and tenderly care for children of either sex, between the ages of 2 and 16 years, afflicted with any incurable disease.” Two years later the mission statement was amended to exclude “those merely blind, deaf or dumb; those suffering from epilepsy; those imbecile or idiotic; those suffering from pulmonary tubercolosis.”In…

Following several typhoid epidemics and six years of debate, the Woodstock General Hospital was opened in 1895 and was situated on a hill between Riddell and Wellington Streets in the Town of Woodstock. The original hospital contained a small operating room and thirty patient beds. In 1924 the West Wing was added to the property, an X-Ray department in 1925 and a Children’s Warn in 1935.By 1951, Woodstock General Hospital had fifty-eight doctors and 119 beds which included 26 children’s beds and one isolation.In 1954 work began on a new addition to the hospital, which saw most of the original…

The London Asylum for the Insane once stood on the grounds of 850 Highbury Avenue in London, Ontario. The asylum’s name was later changed to Ontario Hospital London. In 1963, the Ontario Hospital London was demolished and replaced with the London Psychiatric Hospital.The original asylum examination building still stands today but is extremely unsafe to explore due to the flooring.In 2001, St. Joseph’s Health Care took over the institution and changed the name of the facility to Regional Mental Health Care London (RMHC). The hospital provided in-patient and out-patient support services for people suffering severe mental health issues. The facility…

During the early 20th century the Ontario government was not known to contribute substantially towards the cost of constructing or operating hospitals. In 1944 a group of physicians along with Bishop R.H. Dignan (Diocese of Sault Ste Marie) and Monsignor J.C. Humphrey (Christ the King Church) approached the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste Marie for assistance in financing the construction of a new hospital. On September 2, 1944 the Sisters purchased seven acres of property located at 700 Paris Street from Mr. and Mrs. Stafford using their own funding. The Lieutenant Governor approved an Order in Council for…

The Chedoke Hospital in Hamilton started as a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients in 1906. It began as a two tent operation located on a farm where eight patients were able to be treated.  When antibiotics were discovered by Albert Schatz in 1943, the need for long stays in sanitariums was no longer required. To remain operational the sanitarium began accepting Inuit patients from Northern Canada. From 1958 until 1962, approximately 1,300 patients received treatment at Chedoke. Life for Inuit patients could often involve feelings of isolation, being confined to a bed, language barriers and some suffered abuse at the hands…

History of St. Catharine’s General Hospital St. Catharine’s first hospital was founded by Dr. Theophilus Mack in 1865. It was built on Cherry Street and contained four beds. The hospital provided medical care for sailors passing through the Welland Canal as well as to the local residents.  A second hospital, on Hainer Street, opened in the spring of 1867 and was three times larger with twelve beds.  In March of 1870 the board agreed to purchase the Winsor Chase house on Queenston Street. The house was remodelled to create room for sixteen beds. It opened in September of the same year. The…