Dr. James Low

Kingston General Hospital
A National Treasure
By Dr. James Low

Kingston General Hospital is a true national treasure.

The hospital was designated a National Historic Site in 1997 because the original buildings of the Kingston General Hospital reflect the 19th century, are still intact and continue as an integral part of the present-day hospital.

The 19th century was a period of remarkable change in health care during which the hospital emerged as an essential component of the health care system.

An interpretive plaque unveiled in July 1997 reads as follows:

"An enduring witness to the evolution of public health care, Kingston General is one of Canada's oldest functioning hospitals. Most of its early buildings have survived, notably the Main Building and the Watkins Wing which date to a time when hospitals were places for the care of the poor. Expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries marked the transformation of this charitable hospital into a centre of scientific medicine. The Nickle Wing for patients with infectious disease, the Doran Building for the care of women and children, and the Fenwick operating theatre all date to the 1890's. They show the gradual shift away from treatment in the home in favour of the hospital, which offered new surgical techniques and an antiseptic environment. The new nurses' home, completed in 1904, acknowledged the advance of nursing as a profession critical to the institution. Opened in 1914, the Empire Wing with its private and semiprivate rooms demonstrates the hospitals acceptance by the well-to-do. These early buildings form an integral part of a larger hospital complex that continues to reflect new approaches to medical treatment."