PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ESPLANADE ARTS & HERITAGE CENTRE ARCHIVES
The official opening of the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, in the current location, in 1957.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ESPLANADE ARTS & HERITAGE CENTRE ARCHIVES
Construction crews work on the expansion project at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital
Medicine Hat houses fi rst civilian hospital in Alberta By GILLIAN SLADE M
ore than 100 years ago Medicine Hat’s first general hospital was a
handsome sandstone building complete with a low picket fence, situated where the Remand Centre is now, on the corner of Maple Avenue and Second Street S.E.
The first patients were admitted on Jan. 27, 1890. The formal opening took place on June 4, 1890.
Numerous donations were made for furnishing the hospital, including a donation from the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, who had visited while the building was under construction.
Finances were often an issue in a day when patients were responsible for paying for their hospital stay and treatment. While there were 2,359 patients in 1920 that number dropped to 1,673 six years later.
Revenue that year was $46,702 with expenses of $47,326, according to the book, A Healthy Outlook, by Marcel M.C. Dirk, published in 1989.
In those days, and many decades after, a quiet zone around any hospital was considered an absolute necessity.
In 1918, hospital staff warned Hatters that traffic noise was affecting the well- being of patients. They asked for “quiet signs" to be erected.
“I wish again to draw the attention of the Board to the very great annoyance and discomfort which patients suffer from unnecessary noise, this is largely due to thoughtlessness on the part of motorists and others but is rather unpardonable because the average person must realize that at all times there is a danger of awakening or disturbing someone seriously ill in the
hospital,” an historic document says, which was included in Dirk’s book.
The hospital even had a handyman repair floor boards to eliminate creeks that could disturb patients.
“They used to put sand on the pavement to reduce the noise around the hospital,” said Evelyn Stall who put in a total of 25,000 volunteer hours running the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital Auxiliary and was president of the organization for two years.
The Auxiliary was responsible for raising funds for many aspects of the hospital including new equipment.
“The gift shop used to bring in $85,000 a year,” said Stall.
By the 1950s further expansion of the existing building was not feasible and three alternative sites were considered.
The existing site had a 75 decibel noise level and severe flooding issues.
A site in Crescent Heights was quiet but Altawana Drive was considered an issue for ambulances in winter, while the Finlay Bridge and First Street Subway caused bottlenecks.
The current location of the Medicine Hat General Hospital was favoured because of the elevation allowing providing pleasant views from the windows, was relatively undeveloped at the time, and of course quieter.
The News recorded a 92 per cent vote in favour of financing the hospital’s construction, for just under $2 million, with local taxpayers’ funds.
It was November 1957 before the construction was completed and January 1958 before the first patients were transferred from the old hospital.
A story in the News called the hospital, “one of the finest medical and health institutions in North America”.
By 1960 the need for a hospital for those with chronic health issues was identified and provincial funding approved. In 1963 the Dr. Dan Mac Charles Auxiliary
Hospital was opened.
This building was demolished in June 2012 to make room for the expansion of Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, which is currently underway. This will include a six-storey wing of about 23,200 square metres with full surgical services, maternal and newborn services in a distinct area, outpatient care, cardio- respiratory services, renal services, the cancer clinic and a heliport pad on the roof.
Once those areas are in use, a further 7,600 square metres will be renovated in the existing hospital.
The $220 million project is expected to be complete by the winter of 2016.
October 2013 there was a hiccup in construction as Con-Forte Contracting, contractor for the concrete work, announced it was no longer in business. Months passed as work on the site was reduced to a fraction of the normal pace.
“I think we are starting to catch-up on the three months we lost there,” said Larry Raymond senior project manager for Alberta Infrastructure.
By the middle of January concrete for the third floor of the expansion had been poured. Enclosing the lower floors with exterior walls will take place this spring.
The summer of 2014, the public is likely to see the first exterior finishes going up. ■
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