Tag: health care history

“Sick City” Outdoor Guided Tour Tickets Now on Sale

July 2, 2021

Walk in the footsteps of some of Kingston’s earliest residents and arrivals as they engage in a quest for health care in the Limestone City. The story of establishment of one of Canada’s oldest public hospitals, Kingston General Hospital, is one full of success and sacrifice, triumph and tragedy. Join us for a fascinating look into the lives of those that lived, arrived and died here, as we unlock the secrets of Kingston’s medical history. … More “Sick City” Outdoor Guided Tour Tickets Now on Sale

Good Air and Bad Air: The Importance of Ventilation

July 27, 2018

Considered by many as the founder of modern nursing, British social reformer Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was one of the most well-known female voices on health care in the 19th century. In this blog entry, I outline what Florence Nightingale believed was the most important consideration of nursing – the ventilation and good air of a patient’s room – and will explore how this advice recurs and develops in the ensuing forty years in home advice manuals. … More Good Air and Bad Air: The Importance of Ventilation

Domestic Nursing: An Introduction to Maintaining the Sick-Room

June 22, 2018

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management: A Complete Cookery Book (1861) was perhaps the most well-known and referred-to home advice manual of its time. It was originally published in 24 separate parts from 1859 to 1861, and then compiled as a bound book in 1861, soon becoming a staple in most Victorian homes. … More Domestic Nursing: An Introduction to Maintaining the Sick-Room

Health Care in the Victorian Home

June 1, 2018

I am very excited to be able to research and share with you a topic I personally find fascinating – health in the Canadian home during the Victorian era. I will be using home advice manuals, written primarily by women authors, to explore how the day-to-day health of families did not primarily fall underneath the purview of the doctor or the midwife, but was left in the care of the mother of the home or the ‘Angel in the House’. … More Health Care in the Victorian Home

A Necessary Public Service to Uphold: Kingston General Hospital and the Hospital Funding Crisis of 1867

December 14, 2017

The loss of KGH’s annual grant from the newly formed government in 1867 not only greatly impacted the hospital, but the Kingston community as well. Recognizing the growing value and importance of the hospital to the community, KGH’s Board of Governors and members of the community rallied to save the hospital at this critical juncture in the history of health care in Canada, when the idea of supporting public hospitals was still in question. … More A Necessary Public Service to Uphold: Kingston General Hospital and the Hospital Funding Crisis of 1867

Snakes, Mistakes, and Mythology! The Use of the Rod of Asclepius and the Caduceus in Modern Medicine

August 13, 2014

While handling an artifact from the Museum’s collection, a familiar sight piqued my curiosity. Stamped onto a pin awarded by the Canadian Medical Association was a snake coiled around a staff. I had seen the same symbol on the badges of emergency health service workers, emblazoned on ambulances, and on pharmaceutical logos. I wondered, what were the origins this symbol? Why was it significant to medical organizations? Through what process had so many health professionals adopted it as a representation of their work? … More Snakes, Mistakes, and Mythology! The Use of the Rod of Asclepius and the Caduceus in Modern Medicine

From Variolation to Cowpox Vaccination: The First Steps Towards Eradicating Smallpox

May 2, 2014

Edward Jenner looms large in the history of vaccination.  Known today as the “father of immunology,” Jenner is most famous for developing a vaccine against smallpox in the 1790s.  The vaccine brilliantly made use of common knowledge.  Milkmaids were known for having noticeably clear and smooth skin.  They had, it seemed, managed to develop an immunity to smallpox by suffering (and surviving) a bout of the much milder cowpox. … More From Variolation to Cowpox Vaccination: The First Steps Towards Eradicating Smallpox

The APPle of our Eye: 80 Years of Hospital History in the Palm of your Hand!

September 16, 2013

In 2011, the Museum received the fantastic news that it had been awarded a grant for $52,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.  This funding enabled the Museum to leap with both feet into an exciting two-year project to develop not one, but two new apps that will allow users to explore local medical and nursing history on their phones and mobile devices. … More The APPle of our Eye: 80 Years of Hospital History in the Palm of your Hand!