StettlerLocal.com July 22, 2021
Details of the early days of Stettler Hospital are a little sparse. The earliest record of a doctor in Stettler references a Dr. Howson and his first prescription in Stettler was filled at Dunlap & Hart on January 18, 1906. Eventually records improved showing the operators and locations of Stettler’s private-run hospitals.
In 1912 a Town Hospital was opened and reported by the Independent as “thoroughly equipped and efficiently manage.” The hospital Superintendent's name was Miss Parks. It was furnished largely by the Masonic Lodge, had a men’s general, a ladies general, one private room, a semi-private ward, two large halls, and the nurses’ apartment. This would run for many years with some private hospitals still operating at various times.
In late 1925, the Stettler Board of Trade asked Father Ernest Battle of the Catholic Church Parish to reach out to the Archbishop in hopes of establishing what was known as a ‘Sisters Hospital’. The ‘Nursing Sisters’ were an order of nuns that had established a renowned reputation for their medical services to soldiers during World War One. Four sisters, from St. Joseph’s of London Ontario, arrived in Edmonton in February of 1926.
By the time the town held a formal meeting in March, the support for a Nursing Sisters hospital was divided by plans to operate a Municipal facility instead. Father Battle decided to set the Sisters up at Carder Hall, originally the Stettler Cigar Factory. This large building served as a temporary hospital so that the Sisters would stay in Stettler until a formal decision had been reached on which course of action to take. However, a provisional Municipal Board had also been set up by this time with representatives from Waverly, Haig, Vim and Dublin Municipal DIstricts. Settler and Botha were with those areas in comprising the original Municipal Hospital District.
By May of 1928 the Municipal District was a legitimate corporation and was able to acquire a line of credit of $40,000 for a 20 year period to secure financing for the construction and furnishing of a 25 bed facility. The new district meant the end of the Nursing Sisters’ time in Stettler. They were able to accept an offer in the community of Galahad to establish a 20 bed facility there, and would run it from 1927, until 1995.
The Stettler Municipal Hospital was constructed in 1928-29. Early staff consisted of Dr. A.E. Kennedy, Dr. N.W Connelly and Dr. Clive A Staples, with Miss Cushing as Superintendent of nurses. Several doctors and nurses would work at the new hospital over the years. During World War Two, Dr. F.O Galbraith would come to work at the hospital, and was the lone serving doctor during the war.
In 1939 the Stettler Municipal Hospital received recognition by the Canadian Medical Association at a gathering in Toronto. The Stettler Hospital was described in a presentation on Alberta hospitals, as a model institution for one of its size. It had earned a reputation not only for its general management and conduct of business, but also for it’s surgical operations. The nursing staff also received special recognition for their high calibre. The well-run facility was such a success that it had paid off the 20 year loan in just over half that time.
By 1949 the town had grown and other communities had joined the hospital district so a $125,000, new 25 bed wing was added to the hospital. The newly expanded facility would be home to doctors from all around the world, including Ireland, Germany, and England, as well as doctors from all across the country. In 1950, the Municipal board acquired the former Botha Bank for a little over $2,000. The 2 story building was moved from Botha, set on the Hospital grounds and renovated to provide approximately 19 (most likely very bare, and basic) rooms. Another feature that the municipal hospital ran for many, many years, was a very large garden behind the hospital, that was used in the hospital’s cafeteria, and patient meals.
By the 1950’s a new top of the line clinic was built just a few blocks east of the hospital with the intentions of helping improve patient care to those in the community. The new clinic was state-of-the-art including design and features that were built into it to be easily adapted as natural gas, and better electrical services, became available.
As the face of healthcare in the province was changing, new facilities were constructed over the years. By 1972, the Stettler General & Auxiliary Hospital & Nursing Home District No. 20 was established. It amalgamated the 50 bed general hospital as well as the former A.E. Kennedy Auxiliary Hospital, and the Stettler Nursing home.
The Municipal Hospital would continue to operate for a few years with multiple operations claiming small sections of it over the years. Many people remember the health clinic operating out of the building, as well as Red Deer College operating a satellite school out of it in the 80’s and 90’s. A daycare facility also operated in the basement for a time. In May of 1999 the building was torn down, and the lot was reclaimed with a Seniors’ Condo building was constructed in its place. A Facebook post from Wally’s Backhoe Services, noted that their staff were able to salvage many of the bricks, and they were reused for something else.
Carson Ellis, Reporter & Local Historian at Our Town Stettler