Hawksbury General Hospital

History

From the late 1800s
As with all health care institutions the history of the Hawkesbury hospitals is woven into the very fibre of our community Their history starts in an old house built in 1820 and owned by JC Murray to serve as a stopover for travellers between Montreal and Bytown Ottawa This house was later purchased and converted into a medical clinic by Dr Frank G Pattee

Humble as it was this beginning was followed by the Smith Clinic founded by Dr T Walter Smith at the turn of the new century This hospital provided services ranging from appendix and hernia operations to the repair of bone fractures The Smith Clinic with its 10 beds provided most of the hospital services to Hawkesbury and the region

To the early 1920s
Around the 1920s Hawkesbury was experiencing intense economic and industrial development and the citys population had almost reached 6 000 people Because of this industrial growth the private hospitals namely Smith and Pattee could no longer cope with the local needs

In 1925 Canon Joseph Gascon bought the Golden Lion Hotel on the corner of Regent and William Streets and offered it to the community to be converted into a hospital In 1927 the Grey Nuns took possession of the building and founded the NotreDame Hospital adding 20 hospital beds to those already provided by the Smith Clinic

The first physicians at this new hospital were Dr JR Rheacuteaume and Dr LP Beaudoin but in addition all physicians living and practicing in Ontario could care for patients in the hospital Statistics for the first year of operation for the NotreDame Hospital included 276 patients admitted 108 surgical operations 68 Xrays 7 births and 9 deaths

In 1930 Dr EP Kelly purchased Dr Pattees clinic He changed the name of the clinic to Kelly Hospital which continued its operation until Dr Kellys death in 1956

In 1932 the NotreDame Hospital expanded to 30 beds The increased number of beds was made possible by using every nook available as linen rooms and small pharmacies on each floor The medical staff had grown to 5 active members and 4 associate members The NotreDame hospital experienced its last expansion in 1955 when the construction of a wing brought its capacity to 39 beds

In 1937 Canon JR Guindon founded a home for unwed mothers called Maria Centre which later became the Bon Pasteur Hospital operated by the Sisters of Bon Pasteur The Bon Pasteur Hospital which expanded in 1956 was renamed the StCoeurdeMarie Hospital and specialized in providing services to women In 1957 the NotreDame Hospital closed its obstetrics and gynecology departments to rationalize services between the two hospitals

Little by little the NotreDame Hospital and the StCoeurdeMarie Hospital worked toward integration finally becoming known as Annex A and Annex B of the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital At this time the hospitals had a total capacity of 79 beds

In the meantime during the 1940s Dr T Walter Smith was joined by his two sons Dr H Drummond Smith and Dr Irwin T Smith The Smith doctors father and sons continued their work until 1952 when they decided to build new facilities for their patients The result was an addition of 16 new beds and 3 new physicians

In 1961 the Smith Clinic expanded to 50 beds providing medical surgical obstetrics gynaecology and psychiatric services and a complete emergency service which eliminated the need for emergency cases to be transported to Ottawa for treatment

To the 1980s
The culmination of this long and noble history of health care was the amalgamation of the 3 sites into a new and modern 110bed hospital built in 1984 Pleasant surroundings ultramodern equipment and thoughtful personnel all help to give the new hospital an atmosphere which is essential for patient confidence care and recovery

To the future
Today the Hawkesbury amp District General Hospital is a 69bed healthcare center which offers a broad variety of inpatient and outpatient services to a community which has grown throughout the years As our hospital is directed by proactive board members and managed by spirited administrators plans are currently being drawn for further development and expansion

By perusing through our website you will discover the wide range of services now being provided to our patients by our 365 employees and 65 physicians