Leamington District Memorial Hospital (Municipality of Leamington, Ontario)

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194 Talbot St W
Leamington, ON N8H 1N9
(519) 326-2373
www.leamingtonhospital.com/general/default.asp

History:

Opened in 1952 0n 5 acre site with 42 beds. Now serves 75,000 residents of south Essex County with 88 beds, staff of 200, 24 hour emergency service and a variety of in patient and out patient programs.

Organized medical care in Leamington dates back to 1910, when nurse Maude Tisdale, along with her mother, opened a small nursing home on Oak Street East. In 1916, she moved to Erie Street South to operate Tisdale Hospital, a two-storey facility with the operating room located in a bedroom on the second floor. After surgery, doctors carried their patients down the stairs to the main-floor recovery room. The hospital closed in 1930 when Miss Tisdale died.

In 1920, nurse Ada McQueen opened the Cottage Hospital next door to Tisdale’s facility. Three years later she moved to a house on what would later become Wilkinson Drive. The Cottage Hospital served until 1933, when two nurses from Strathroy opened Hopewell Hospital. Under the direction of Mary Dinning, Hopewell offered four private rooms and one ward in a large frame house at 37 Russell Street. Hopewell eventually relocated to Russell House, a former hotel on the same street, and Dinning expanded her hospital to 22 beds.

Over the next decade, Hopewell treated so many patients that by 1943 it was bursting at the seams. Faced with increasing costs and a severe shortage of nurses, Dinning decided to close Hopewell’s doors and accepted a supervisory position in Strathroy. Devastated by the news, both the Rotary and Lions Clubs of Leamington stepped in to prevent the area from losing its only local medical facility. On July 7, members of the Leamington Lions Club voted to conduct a campaign with hopes of building a new hospital that would meet the needs of a growing population. A provisional board of directors was appointed with Chairman Lloyd Bowman leading the early fund raising campaign and preliminary planning for the new 50-bed hospital. On July 12, the Leamington Rotary Club voted to rent the facility from Dinning, and took over operations of the hospital for what they assumed would be a temporary period. The Rotary held several fundraising campaigns to assist with operational costs, and recruited many of their members’ wives to fill voids left by a depleted staff. On July 31, they held one of the community’s most successful tag days of their time, raising $900 towards the effort.

In September of 1943, the new hospital Board received its charter, and a Hospital Week Campaign was officially launched on October 4, grossing more than $75,000 in the first three weeks. In January of 1944, despite the fact that Hopewell was running an operating deficit of $2,400, the Rotary voted to assume ownership of the hospital and its medical equipment. A committee lead by W.T. Stone helped set a goal of raising $3,500 - a figure they eventually surpassed allowing them to operate without a deficit by the end of 1947. Simultaneously an Auxiliary formed under the direction of Mrs. Jack Eltherington. With assistance from the Rotary Anns and Ladies of the Eastern Star, they continued to provide volunteer services and fundraising assistance for Hopewell.

Original LDMH MembersThe six-month stop gap turned into a seven-and-a-half year endeavour, as raising money for the new hospital was not an easy task. Not only had the war effort drained community resources, the new hospital fundraising committee was competing with the Victory Loan Campaign. It was through sheer persistence that $90,000 was raised during the early part of 1944. It was when contributions flattened, that the committee decided it was time the taxpayers of Leamington and Mersea Township were given the opportunity to show their collective support. Through a majority vote, residents agreed to support $75,000 worth of tax-based contributions, helping meet the Board’s initial goal of raising $150,000 by the end of the year. When a five-acre piece of property south of Talbot Street West was purchased from G.A. Brown in April of 1945, the dream of building a new hospital seemed closer to reality.

LDMH - During ConstructionThe following January, preliminary calculations determined the hospital would cost upwards of $290,000 - almost twice as much as originally estimated. Even so, the Board commissioned architect H.J. Smith of Toronto to draw up plans, and called tenders in December of 1946. To their further dismay, the lowest bid came in at $449,795. Lloyd Bowman vowed to keep the dream alive, and continued to lead his committee with vigor until 1947 when Dr. E.K. Lyon took the helm. A prominent local physician and surgeon, Dr. Lyon was a wise choice for chairmanship as the community trusted his leadership and respected his authority without question. Dr. Lyon was a pioneer in group practice and President of the Essex County Medical Society in 1946. He subsequently became the President of the Ontario Medical Association in 1956, and President of the Canadian Medical Association in 1959, serving as deputy to Prince Philip, Honorary President of the British Medical Association.

Further appeals added more than $250,000 from Leamington and Mersea Township taxpayers with the remaining funds granted by the various levels of government. Windsor contracting company Dinsmore-Mclntyre was hired in January of 1948 and turned the first patch of sod on March 4 of the same year.

Two years later, on March 28, under the leadership of Mrs. Edith Atkin, the first Ladies Aid meeting was held to recruit women from the vicinity to carry out similar services as were provided at Hopewell. The guest speaker, Mrs. Herman Savage of Windsor, explained the role of a hospital Auxiliary and presented a model of the kind of member who would provide “unselfish service” - the term that would be adopted as their motto. The original Auxiliary primarily consisted of prominent women from the community. The wives of doctors, business owners and board members opened their homes and gardens for fundraising teas, and generated a great deal of support largely because of their status. However, it was not all socializing. Among other things, the Auxilians’ early duties included conducting various fundraising campaigns, staffing a TB chest clinic, canning fruits and vegetables for the patients, and making and repairing all hospital linen.

LDMH - After ConstructionFinally, on April 1, 1950, the Leamington District Memorial Hospital was completed at a cost of $482,968, allowing the Rotary Hopewell Hospital to close and donate its equipment and supplies to the new facility. It was considered a remarkable feat that the Board was able to raise enough money to build the hospital and open its doors free of debt. One of the original and very active Auxiliary members, Lucile Miner of Kingsville, called Leamington District Memorial Hospital a “tribute to the fine spirit and co-operative effort of the people of the district it served.”