About West Park

What's New

Telephone Directory

Location

Hotels in the Area

Vision, Mission and Values

Governance

Accessibility Planning

Awards and Distinctions

Partnerships and Alliances

History

Links

Dan Mazor: A Serious Neck Injury Dan was on vacation when a wave knocked him over and broke his neck. With help from West Park, this young record producer is back in the studio making music.

About West Park

History: Historical Milestones

Major Historical Milestones

1896

• The inaugural meeting of the National Sanitarium Association (NSA), West Park's founding body, was held on April 23rd.

1904

• The Toronto Free Hospital for Consumptive Poor was opened by the NSA and Sir William Gage, the NSA's founder, on September 2nd.

1908

• The Connaught School of Nursing, which was established on campus and later became affiliated with the University of Toronto, graduated its first nurse.

1909

• The Open Air School for Tuberculous Children started classes in order to ensure children being treated in hospital for the disease continued to receive education.

1910

• The Great Fire of December 1st destroyed several buildings. Pavilions were built shortly after to accommodate displaced TB patients.

1912

• The Main Medical Building (Kathleen Honorah Prittie) was opened. Surgeries performed there included pneumothorax, a common procedure for early TB patients.

1913

• The Queen Mary Hospital for Tuberculous Children - the only hospital in the world devoted to the treatment of children with the disease - was opened on June 3rd.

1916

• The Davies Cottage for tuberculous infants was opened, providing care and comfort for even the youngest TB patients.

1917

• The hospital's first x-ray machines and fluoroscope were installed.

1924

• The hospital's name changed to The Toronto Hospital for Consumptives, but was more commonly known in the community as The Weston Sanatorium or Weston Hospital.

1926

• The hospital joined the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA).

1931

• The first major operation (spinal fusion) was performed on April 29th in the Main Medical Building.

1933

• The Surgical (A.E. Ames) Building was opened and became the new home for most surgical procedures.

1938

• The E.L. Ruddy Building was opened, bringing the total bed complement at the hospital to 650.

1945 (circa)

• The first effective medication, streptomycin, was discovered and used effectively in tandem with other medications to treat tuberculosis. TB mortality rates began to decline.

1952

• Fires destroyed the Pavilions and Assembly Hall on May 23rd.

1955

• The hospital received its first accreditation award from the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation.

1959

• An Outpatient Department and Chronic Illness Unit were opened.

1962

• The hospital assumed the care of Inuit adults and children with tuberculosis through a government initiative to help curb the prevalence of TB among this vulnerable population.
  

1966

• The Osler School of Nursing was established on site.

1969

• A Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Unit was opened, expanding the hospital's evolving expertise in the treatment of respiratory disorders.

1972

• The Sanatoria for Consumptives Act was repealed. The Toronto Hospital, Weston was designated a chronic hospital under the Public Hospitals Act.

1973

• The Amputee Program was established.

1974

• A new physiotherapy department and a Stroke/Neurological Rehabilitation Program were opened.

1976

• The hospital's name changed to West Park Hospital

1980

• The hospital's Main Building and the Dorothy Macham Day Hospital were opened.
  

1981

• Terry Fox visited the Prosthetic Department on his Marathon of Hope.

• A formal Respirology Program was established.

1984

• West Park's begins its first major fundraising capital campaign to build the Gage Building.
  

1985

• A Chronic Assisted Ventilatory Care (CAVC) Unit was established.

1986

• The Gage Transitional Living Centre/Gage Building opened.

1987

• A Post-Polio Program was established.

1996

• West Park opened its Assessment Centre, which provides independent, third-party assessments and other services for the insurance industry.

1997

• A Geriatric Rehabilitation Service was opened.

1999

• The Prittie Building was demolished to accommodate a new long-term care centre.

2000

• A renovated 22-bed state-of-the-art TB Unit was opened.

• The hospital's name changed to West Park Healthcare Centre.

2001

• The new 200-bed long-term care centre was opened.

• A new 26-bed Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Service opened.

2002

• West Park's foundation launched its $26 million Raising the Bar Campaign.

• The NSA donated $1 million to establish the first ever NSA Chair for Respiratory Rehabilitation Research.

2003

• West Park responded to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis by opening an interim SARS unit in less than six hours.

• A new 26-bed Functional Enhancement Service opened.

2004

• West Park celebrates its centennial year.