ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL

ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL

ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL OPENED ON THIS SITE IN 1892 IN A BAPTIST CHURCH WHICH HAD BEEN CONVERTED INTO A WOMEN’S BOARDING HOUSE BY THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. THE HOSPITAL OPENED WITH 26 BEDS, SIX DOCTORS AND FIVE NURSES. IN 1892 THE SISTERS OPENED THE FIRST CATHOLIC NURSING SCHOOL IN CANADA AND IN 1910 THE HOSPITAL BECAME FORMALLY AFFILIATED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF MEDICINE. MANY CANADIAN “FIRSTS” TOOK PLACE DURING THE HOSPITAL’S FIRST CENTURY INCLUDING THE FIRST BLOOD TRANSFUSION (1917), THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CANADIAN HEART TRANSPLANT (1968), THE FIRST MUSCLE TRANSPLANT IN NORTH AMERICA (1973) AND THE WORLD’S FIRST SCIATIC NERVE TRANSPLANT (1988). IN ADDITION, NUMEROUS MEDICAL PROCEDURES AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS WERE DEVELOPED AT THE HOSPITAL. BY ITS CENTENARY IN 1992, ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL, STILL OWNED BY THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH, HAD BECOME A 500 BED TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL.

TORONTO HISTORICAL BOARD, 1992

Sarah J. McCabe

October 20, 2018