Lethbridge living Magazine

This photograph was taken of a group of Lethbridge physicians, in 1940, on the steps of the Galt Hospital.

The Galt Hospital was built in 1891 by Sir Alexander Galt for employees of his North Western Coal & Navigation Company at a cost of $16,000, plus $4,000 for furnishings. The two-storey, 35-bed facility was later renovated to include an additional wing of 65-beds. September 1, 1910, Sir Wilfred Laurier, then Prime Minister of Canada, opened the newly constructed addition. In 1930 another addition was added to the 1910 wing at a cost of $74,000. In 1955 the Municipal Hospital was built on Ninth Ave. S. and the Galt Hospital became the Galt Rehabilitation Centre.

A nurses’ residence was built beside the Galt Hospital, and nurses trained at the Galt School of Nursing in the basement of the hospital building. The first Galt Nursing class graduated in 1913 with three people. Nurses were a very dedicated group of people and had to abide by strict professional and personal guidelines. For example, training nurses couldn’t be married, curfews and a dress code were in effect, beds had to be made a particular way in the nurses’ residence, they had to report at specific times, and there were rules on how nurses were to interact with the doctors.

There are also some interesting tidbits of information about early Lethbridge medical care. Lethbridge started out as a mining community, and doctors and nurses became very adept at treating mining accidents, particularly crushing injuries. Also, in 1891 the hospital has its own hot water system–a very advanced feature of a hospital at the time. And last but not least, the Galt Hospital had no special maternity facilities, until 1925. Nurses in-training received two months instruction from fellow nurses at the Maternity Hospital in Medicine Hat. Women giving birth in Lethbridge were relatively few, and delivered their babies in the beds they occupied, whether private or public wards.

On April 4, 1978 the Galt building was designated a provincial historic site; and this year the Galt Museum & Archives will be celebrating the 100 anniversary of the 1910 Galt Hospital. Celebrations include a new exhibit running from September 11 through December 4, Galt Hospital: 100 Years and a Museum Community Day on Sunday, September 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.