Happy 50th birthday to Grace Hospital

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2017 (3327 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

During the 1950s, the population of St. James increased by 73 per cent and it became clear tthere was a desperate need for a hospital.

In 1960, St. James mayor Tom Findlay suggested that the Salvation Army build a new St. James hospital.

On May 7, 1962, the City of St. James approved $980,000 for the Grace Hospital with the support of 78 per cent of  voting ratepayers. Under the leadership of Mayor Bill Hanks, St. James played a major role in hospital’s construction, donating 19.5 acres of land.

The front portion of the land, nearest Portage Avenue, has been preserved as a park, which is home to Grant’s Old Mill. Lakeview Crescent  was renamed Booth Drive after William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, and, when the municipalities of Winnipeg became Metro Winnipeg in 1963, Victoria Street was renamed Sturgeon Road. In recent years the street in front of the hospital was named Pearl McGonigal Way.

On June 5, 1964, there was an official sod-turning ceremony at the hospital site. A  major fire on December 27, 1964, severely   damaged the construction site, a major factor in delaying the planned 1966 opening.

The Grace Hospital was officially opened at 1 p.m. on April 19, 1967, with 300 guests in attendance. Salvation Army commissioner Edgar Grinsted gave Manitoba premier Duff Roblin a golden key to the 251-bed hospital.

Roblin promised that some of the money from the recently approved five per cent sales tax would be used to fund the hospital. On May 6, 1967, patients were moved from the Arlington Street hospital to the new St. James facility.

Dr. Dirk Blouw delivered the hospital’s first baby and Dr. Clive Wightman performed the first surgery. In the early 1970s, various St. James public officials successfully campaigned for transit service to the hospital’s front door.

The hospital has influenced the construction of nearby medical buildings, including  the Assiniboine Clinic (1966), the Grace Hospice  2004) and  Access Winnipeg West (2014). In 2008, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority took over the ownership of the hospital from the Salvation Army.

In 2016, the Edward and Marjorie Danylchuk MRI building opened. Construction of the new emergency department — one of just three that will remain open in Winnipeg under a new provincial plan — is scheduled to be completed in March 2018.

In 2015, I experienced five days of  wonderful care of the Grace when I needed minor surgery.
Happy birthday to the Grace Hospital.

Fred Morris is a community correspondent for St. James. Reach him at fredmorris@hotmail.com