The Birchmount Hospital, officially Scarborough Health Network, Birchmount Hospital, is a
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. Located in the
Agincourt neighbourhood along
Birchmount Road, the hospital was opened in 1985 by
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
as the Scarborough Grace Hospital, a name which some locals still use to refer to the hospital. As of 2016, it is part of the
Scarborough Health Network
Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is a hospital network in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates the Scarborough General, Centenary, and Birchmount hospitals. The three are major community health hospitals with teaching affiliations ...
.
History
In 1985,
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
opened the hospital as The Salvation Army Scarborough Grace Hospital, or simply known as the Scarborough Grace Hospital. In 1998, The Salvation Army also assumed administrative duties of the
Scarborough General Hospital and formed the subsidiary
hospital network
A hospital network is a public, non-profit or for-profit company or organization that provides two or more hospitals and other broad healthcare facilities and services. A hospital network may include hospitals in one or more regions within one o ...
,
The Scarborough Hospital
Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is a hospital network in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates the Scarborough General, Centenary, and Birchmount hospitals. The three are major community health hospitals with teaching affiliations ...
. The official name for the hospital was The Scarborough Hospital, Grace Division.
[
The Scarborough Grace Hospital gained international attention when it became the centre of the ]severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...
(SARS) outbreak in Toronto after Tse Chi Kwai was admitted in March 2003. As Justice Archie Campbell wrote in his SARS Commission report, in March 2003 the index patient
The index case or patient zero is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study.
It can also refer to the first case of a condition or syndrome (not n ...
for the SARS epidemic
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...
in Canada "waited in the crowded emergency ward f Scarborough Gracefor over 16 hours. During these hours he transmitted SARS to two other patients, sparking a chain of infection that spread through the ospital then to other hospitals through patient transfers and ultimately killed 44 and sickened more than 330 others."
The Scarborough Hospital became independent from The Salvation Army in October 2008 when it decided to cease its role in the administration of the hospital and refocus its efforts on providing spiritual care that is culturally sensitive
Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed for ...
. As part of the agreement with The Salvation Army, The Scarborough Hospital undertook a process to remove Grace from the name, opening a contest to staff and the public to rename the hospital. The new name, Birchmount, named after the street it is located on, was announced in July 2009. Although locals continued to refer to the hospital as Grace, the hospital was officially named The Scarborough Hospital, Birchmount Division.
On December 21, 2010, the Birchmount campus was approved for a magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio wave ...
machine by Gerry Phillips
Gerry Phillips (born September 11, 1940) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the eastern Toronto riding of Scarborough—Agincourt from 1987 to 2011. He serv ...
, Member of Provincial Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt.
On December 1, 2016, the campuses of The Scarborough Hospital (General and Birchmount) and the Centenary Hospital
Centenary Hospital (officially Scarborough Health Network, Centenary Hospital) is a hospital in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was opened on July 1, 1967, and was named in honour of the 100th anniversary of Canada. Since 2016, the hos ...
merged to form a new administrative network, the Scarborough Health Network
Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is a hospital network in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates the Scarborough General, Centenary, and Birchmount hospitals. The three are major community health hospitals with teaching affiliations ...
.
On January 24, 2019, the Scarborough Health Network approved the closure of pediatric and obstetric services at the Birchmount Hospital. As of 2019, the hospital network plans to reduce the number of hospital sites from three to two by 2031. In two of the three reorganization options, the Birchmount Hospital is planned to be shut down. A local campaign known as Save the Grace, headed by Toronto city councillor
Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022.
Structure
The cur ...
Jim Karygiannis
James Karygiannis ( ; el, Δημήτρης Καρύγιαννης, Dimítris Karýgiannis, ; born May 2, 1955) is a Canadian former politician. He formerly served in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal MP from 1988 to 2014, and as memb ...
, appeals to the Government of Ontario
The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor ...
to stop plans of shutting down the hospital.
See also
*List of hospitals in Toronto
There are over thirty hospitals located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Many of them are also medical research facilities and teaching schools affiliated with the University of Toronto. Most hospitals are grouped under administrative networks that ser ...
References
{{Authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 1985
Hospitals established in 1985
Hospitals in Toronto
Buildings and structures in Scarborough, Toronto
1985 establishments in Ontario