The Prince Edward Island Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
,
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
. It was the first public general hospital established in the province and the largest such facility throughout its history.
The facility was established by the provincial government on January 28, 1884 on a property known as "Haszard House" located at present-day 24-36 Longworth Avenue in the northeast part of the city. The Prince Edward Island Hospital was predated by the
Charlottetown Hospital
The Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province.
The facility was established in 1879 under the leadership of Bisho ...
, which was established in 1879 by the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown ( la, Dioecesis Carolinapolitana) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is a suffragan diocese comprising the entire province of Prince Edward Island.
Originally carved from the Archdiocese ...
. The city's residents demanded that the government open "a general" hospital that was not affiliated with a religious body. As such, the Prince Edward Island Hospital was frequently referred to as the "
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
" hospital, however the facility was secular and had no affiliation with a religious denomination.
In 1891 the first
nursing school
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
in the province was opened when the Prince Edward Island Hospital School of Nursing was established.
In 1896 the trustees of the Prince Edward Island Hospital foresaw a greater need than Haszard House could provide and accepted the gift of Rev. Ralph Brecken's property at present-day 31 Kensington Road in the neighbouring then-rural community of
Parkdale. Architect C.B. Chappell was commissioned to design and build the large brick building in June 1898 and it opened in March 1900.
By the 1920s it became apparent that the Kensington Road location for the hospital was becoming over-crowded, thus the provincial government built a much larger facility on the northern part of the
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
property adjacent to
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
. This new building opened in 1934 at present-day 5 Brighton Road.
In 1969 the provincial government took over the operation of the
Charlottetown Hospital
The Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province.
The facility was established in 1879 under the leadership of Bisho ...
from the Roman Catholic Church as part of the provincial development plan under premier
Alex Campbell. The Prince Edward Island Hospital and the Charlottetown Hospital were identified for replacement with a single modern facility.
The Prince Edward Island Hospital School of Nursing was merged with other nursing schools in the province in 1969 to form the Prince Edward Island School of Nursing. This education facility closed in 1994 when its diploma programs transferred to the bachelor program at the
University of Prince Edward Island
The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.''
H ...
.
In 1982, after 97 years of service, the Prince Edward Island Hospital closed its doors when the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital opened.
The opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 1982 also saw the end of
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
services in the province, which had been provided at the Prince Edward Island Hospital since the late 1960s. One of the conditions that the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
placed on the provincial government of Premier
James Lee for merging the Catholic-affiliated
Charlottetown Hospital
The Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province.
The facility was established in 1879 under the leadership of Bisho ...
with the secular and publicly operated Prince Edward Island Hospital into the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital was that all abortion services in the province be discontinued.
Prince Edward Home
In 1982 the Prince Edward Island Hospital building at 5 Brighton Road was re-purposed by the provincial government and called the Prince Edward Home.
From 1982 to 2014 the building was used for the following health care services:
* Palliative Care
* Convalescent/Restorative Care
* Respite Care
* Long-Term Nursing Home Care for individuals over the age of 60 who do not require acute general hospital care
* Long-Term Medical Nursing Care for individuals under the age of 60 and who suffer from chronic disabilities
In November 2013 a new "provincial manor" opened in the neighbourhood of
West Royalty and residents were moved to that location. A new palliative care facility which opened in 2014, has left the building at 5 Brighton Rd with no purpose in 2015 and it is expected to be decommissioned.
Palliative care facility gets go-ahead on heritage site
/ref>
The adjacent building that housed the Prince Edward Island Hospital School of Nursing was re-purposed by the provincial government and currently houses offices for the Department of Education and called the Aubin Arsenault Building.
References
External links
UPEI School of Nursing
City of Charlottetown - Dates of Interest
{{authority control
Hospitals in Prince Edward Island
Hospital buildings completed in 1934
Government buildings completed in 1934
Buildings and structures in Charlottetown
Hospitals established in 1884
Hospitals disestablished in 1982
Defunct hospitals in Canada
1884 establishments in Canada