The Province

How the dream became a reality

Community effort began in the ’40s to raise funds for a new hospital

- STEPHANIE IP THE PROVINCE sip@theprovinc­e.com twitter.com/stephanie_ip

A lot can happen in 60 years — but in the case of Burnaby Hospital, which celebrates its 60th anniversar­y this year, even more can happen in only nine.

That’s how long it took for a group of concerned community members in the 1940s to raise the funds needed to build a hospital for Burnaby. However, the task didn’t come without its own set of challenges.

The hospital began as a grassroots initiative, spurred by the efforts of ordinary citizens who had a vision for their community.

At the time, Burnaby was a fledgling community with a population of around 35,000. Only 14 doctors practised in Burnaby and residents were often forced to travel to neighbouri­ng communitie­s for treatment, with some trips taking up to four hours.

Margaret Beatty’s birth certificat­e says she was born in Burnaby in 1928, long before Burnaby Hospital existed.

“I don’t know what sort of hospital it was,” she joked. “In those days, the nearest hospitals were New Westminste­r or Vancouver General.”

On July 14, 1943, a group of concerned citizens gathered at the Canadian Legion Hall on Oak and Kingsway streets to begin discussing their vision of a hospital dedicated to serving Burnaby. The group, while determined, did not initially have the support of Burnaby council, recalled community members who helped form the Burnaby Hospital Fund Raising Committee.

V.J. Lewis, who chaired the committee, attended countless council meetings to push for support. It wasn’t until councillor­s saw the momentum the committee was gaining and the funds they were able to raise without officials’ support that they got on board with the plan.

Heavy fundraisin­g began in 1944 and included everything from the raffle of hand made quilts, fashion shows, bingo games, and door-to-door solicitati­ons. Those efforts continued until 1947, the same year the Burnaby Hospital Society was incorporat­ed.

While both levels of government had pledged their financial support at the time, inevitable costs and challenges linked to the proposed site at Lougheed and Phillips kept raising the price tag. It was then that city council offered up 17.5 hillside acres of parkland on Smith Avenue,the samesite where the hospital is today.

In 1951, final plans were approved and Smith Bros. and Wilson were awarded a $686,428 contract to construct the hospital.

According to Edward Whitten, who lived in Burnaby from 1948 to 1988 ,the site where the hospital was built was “prett ymuch a wilder ness area.”Whitten and his wife watched as the hospital was built from the ground up.

Constructi­on continued throughout most of 1952 and on Oct. 30 of that year, Burnaby General Hospital, as it was then known, was officially opened. After the hospital’s opening, Whitten’s two younger sisters, now 73 and 75, would also go on to work at the 100-bed facility as nurses.

Although health ministry officials had initially predicted the hospital could not be achieved for less than $10,000 per bed, the citizens behind the original plan realized their dream for just over $8,000 per bed.

For residents such as Beatty, who remembers a time when a trip to the emergency ward seemed impossible, it’s easy to understand the importance of Burnaby Hospital and the efforts during the nine-year period leading up to its opening.

“We need the support, we need the services,” she said. “People should support their hospital.”

 ??  ?? The Province headline Oct. 31, 1952, records the official opening of Burnaby Hospital.
The Province headline Oct. 31, 1952, records the official opening of Burnaby Hospital.

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