"Looking back on what we have learned about our history and what we know today, it has been an exciting 100 years," remarks Eric Dean, Executive Director, Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation. "It is always interesting to learn about other people's involvement with the Hospital and how times have changed. We're hoping to receive interesting items and information to present at our official centennial celebrations and perhaps, to include in a time capsule to be opened at our bicentennial 100 years from now."

On November 20, 1902, Ross Memorial Hospital officially opened its doors, thanks to founder, James L. Ross, a civil engineer from Montreal and a former resident of Lindsay. Mrs. Annie Ross, the founder's wife, was given the honour of opening the door with a gold key.

The Hospital, designed by A.T. Taylor, a prominent, Montreal-based architect, was fully equipped with a capacity of 23 beds and a nursing staff consisting of a lady superintendent, a head nurse and four nurses in training.

The opening ceremony not only marked the start of the institution, but was a social event of unprecedented scale in the then Victoria County. The Ross family, who had lived in Lindsay in humbler days at the start of James Ross' career, was by then extremely wealthy and travelled to the ceremony from their palatial home in Montreal in their private railway car.

The Lindsay Evening Post reported "…hundreds of leading people of the district flocked into town to be present at the opening… Flags were flying everywhere, and the premises of our merchants were prettily decorated with Union Jacks and bunting in honour of the occasion. The driveway into the grounds was lined by the Collegiate Institute Cadets, who constituted a guard of honour for the occasion and looked smart and soldier like."

The Hospital's 1903 Act of Incorporation, Rules and Regulations, provides insight into the daily life at the Ross at the turn of the last century. The lady superintendent was neither permitted to stay out of the Hospital overnight, nor to leave the town without permission of the Chairman of the Hospital Board. Nurses lived at the Hospital and expectations of nurses were demanding. For example:

• Nurses must work 12-hour shifts, every day except Sunday.
• Each nurse must spend at least 15 minutes in the open air every day.
• The nurses' rooms must always be open for inspection, and must present a neat and orderly appearance.
• Nurses are expected to attend morning prayers daily and to attend their own places of worship every Sunday.

Pupil nurses or nurses-in-training, who did most of the work under a handful of nurses, were paid four dollars per month in their first year, which increased to six dollars per month in their third and final year. Once a year, each would receive two dresses with caps and aprons.

Forty years later, some things had not changed. Kay Mackey, who received her training at the Ross in the mid-1940s, recalls working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, with a half-day off and four hours off on Sunday; and nurses were expected to be in residence by 10:00 p.m. every evening.

"It was a wonderful place to get your training and a wonderful place to work," recalls Mrs. Mackey. "Generally, we were quite happy and satisfied with our role. We considered nursing an art, a science, and a service to humanity."

Mrs. Mackey later became the Director of the Nursing Assistant Program at Ross Memorial and served in this position from 1968 to 1988. She recognizes the incredible number of changes in nursing over the last 40 years.

"In the not to distant past, there were fewer doctors in the Hospital and patients stayed in hospital much longer than they do today," she adds. "Nurses addressed everyone formally beginning with Mister, Doctor, Mrs. or Miss. Nurses always wore their starched, white uniforms and caps. Today, increasing numbers of nurses have an advanced education and patients are more likely to be called 'clients'. As well, nurses today are more aware of their patients' and colleagues' rights and freedoms. Nurses have more decision-making authority regarding their patients' care versus the past when doctors took full decision-making responsibility for the patient."

"I am excited by the prospect of the Hospital's upcoming centennial," expresses Mrs. Mackey. "It will be interesting to see what people offer in the way of artefacts and anecdotes."

Ross Memorial Hospital is looking for more stories, anecdotes and memories - the older, the better; and is collecting artefacts, photos and historical items. These will be used for display purposes in November 2002 and if permitted, for placement in a time capsule to be opened on November 20, 2102. Items will be returned to owners, if requested.

Historical information can be forwarded to:
Holly-Ann Franchi
Communications and Public Relations
Ross Memorial Hospital
10 Angeline Street North
(705) 328- 6111

or to:

Karen Scott
Donor Relations
Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation
2 Jane Street
(705) 328-6183