Health Care As It Was

Health Care As It Was (page 2)

Office & Residence of Dr. D.D. Wright

In the early years in Oakville the doctors were hardy, caring individuals who often had to ride for long distances over rough terrain, in all kinds of weather, to see a patient. One of the town's first doctors was Dr. William Gunn, a Scotsman who set up practice in the early 1840s. By the early 1850s, the town had five physicians who practised from their "doctor shops", which were usually in their homes. The home and office of Dr. D.D. Wright, one of Dr. Gunn's contemporaries, is depicted in the sketch at left.

Receipt from Dr. D.D. Wright "for attending Susie". 1871

The Romain House, built 1855.

The Romain House, built in 1855 by William Romain as a single family residence, played an interesting role in Oakville's history, including its health care past. The home stood on a large plot of land between First and Allan streets stretching from Lakeshore Road to the lake. In 1870 the house was sold to the Turner family, and after 22 years as their family residence it was sold, remodelled and in 1892 became Lakehurst Sanitarium for several years (until 1905).

The following paragraph appeared in Toronto's The Saturday Globe, July 15 1893 edition:

"LAKEHURST GOLD CURE -

A letter from the Manager, Lakehurst Sanitarium

The Ontario Double Chloride of Gold Cure company has leased for a term of years the charming home at Oakville of ex-Ald. Turner of Toronto, and the wisdom of the choice cannot be questioned. The grounds comprise six acres of wood, lawn, garden and conservatories, and the whole makes a suitable paradise. The location is on the bank of the lake, on which it has a frontage of 600 feet, and the bank is terraced to the beach.

Lakehurst Sanitarium - 1893

The house is luxuriously furnished, and, taken all in all, there is not a more delightful spot in Canada than "Lakehurst". The company claims to be the pioneers in Canada of the gold cure movement, their first sanitarium having been established at Grimsby in 1892. Their present quarters are in every way fitted for the purposes to which they are devoted. The Grand Trunk railway and the lake steamers give easy access, and the inmates enjoy perfect quiet, pure air and skilful treatment. The fact that four-fifths of those now in attendance were influenced by former patients to come is the best possible evidence of the character of the institution. The treatment, down to the minutest detail, is directed by a skilful medical practitioner, whose professional efforts have been attended in all cases with the happiest results. The company has an office at room 35, Bank of Commerce building, Toronto, where also all information can be obtained. A view of Lakehurst accompanies this article."

This summary of nurses' duties: 1897 provides an interesting insight into the nature of things at the turn of the century. (It's unrelated to Lakehurst, having been obtained from nurses at St. Joseph's Hospital, Toronto.)

In 1905 the house was sold to the William Davis family. During renovations, the Regency veranda was removed and it again became a family home, now known as Dungannon, owned by the Davis family until the 1950s. It was subsequently sold and divided into apartments until, in 1979, it was restored to a single family residence.

Dungannon

Taylor Nursing Home c1930s

The Taylor Nursing home, a red brick, two storey building on the corner of Eighth Line (Chartwell Rd.) and MacDonald, was operated by Jane Taylor and her husband Frank in the 1930s and 40s. There were six bedrooms used principally for maternity cases although, when available, they were sometimes used for convalescents.

During this period a patient requiring surgery had to be rushed to Toronto. Unfortunately in serious cases the patient might not survive the trip that took over an hour. And so, throughout the war years and immediately after, there was much talk about a hospital for Oakville.

In 1944, a group of civic minded citizens banded together to form the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital Association and raised more than $100,000 to build a new hospital. However, it was felt that construction costs might come down and that it was inopportune to proceed with building plans.

Faced with this delay in getting started, the Lions Club of Oakville spearheaded the growth of hospitalization for the area by forming a committee to establish and run a temporary hospital. Leaders in this project were men such as Sydney G. Fearman and Dr. E.P. Soanes. The Lions purchased the former home of Mr. Christie Armstrong - a partner in Marlatt & Armstrong Leather Company - on First Street for this purpose. They installed an elevator to get supplies from the basement warehouse to the third floor surgery and operated the hospital for almost two years, 1946-48. During that time the fourteen-bed accommodation was constantly overflowing.

Oakville's Temporary Hospital 1946 - 1948

Although a significant benefit for the community, there were many features that left much to be desired. The elevator was constantly breaking down, whimpers from the nursery at feeding time could be heard throughout the building and there were no oxygen tents available.

And so, in 1948, the Lions Club donated the property to the recently formed Hospital Board.

OTMH Nurses showing hospital statistics for 1952

The same year saw the sod-turing ceremony (delayed from 1944) for the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital that's still serving Oakville. It opened on Feb. 14, 1950 with 50 beds, 13 staff doctors and 13 nurses.(Current statistics are available here.) To the left, some OTMH nurses display hospital statistics for the year 1952.

During that era, publications such as Dr. A.W. Chases' Calendar Almanac were very popular (click it to view a few pages from the 1949 edition). Can you solve "Figure this Out" on page 5 without checking the answer?

Dr. Chases' Almanac 1949