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| St. Mary's of the Lake Hospital, ca. 1946-1956. Providence care Picture Collection V.20-SMOL on loan to the Providence Care Archives from the Archives of Ontario. |
St. Mary's of the Lake
With the advent of the 1930s, St. Mary’s of the Lake experienced a sharp decline in the number of orphans entering the institution, largely due to escalating intervention on behalf of the Children’s Aid Society.
At the start of the Second World War, St. Mary’s of the Lake was leased to the Canadian Department of National Defense for use as a military hospital. St. Mary’s of the Lake remained a general military hospital until May 31, 1946, when it was returned to the Sisters of Providence who decided to keep the site as a hospital for the chronically ill instead of reverting it back to an orphanage. You could add that from 1942-1946 it was know as the Kingston Military Hospital.
By 1947, there were 85 patients in the hospital and rates were $5 and $6 per day for private rooms, $3.50 for two-bed rooms, $3 for three-bed rooms, and $2 for a space in a ward holding between four and six beds. From 1947 until 1950, numerous additions were made to the hospital including the institution of an Occupational Therapy Department and the installation of X-ray equipment.
Mental Health Services
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| Aerial View of Rockwood Asylem, 1928. 1021.11.5 on loan to the Providence Care Archives from the Archives of Ontario. |
Under the leadership of superintendent Edward Ryan, Rockwood Asylum’s name was changed to Rockwood Hospital and the Ontario Neuro-Psychiatric Association was instituted to expand avenues in clinical research as well as to bring mental health care professionals together. Ryan also persuaded the government to fund the development of the Mowat building to be used for recovering and rehabilitating individuals. In 1920 Rockwood Hospital’s name was changed again, this time to Ontario Hospital.
In 1936, after Thomas Cumberland and Archibald Kilgour had both resigned as superintendents, Ernest A. Clark assumed the role, encouraging client interaction with the larger Kingston community and introducing libraries into both the main building and the Mowat Wing.
By the end of the Second World War, Joseph Stewart was superintendent and the hospital was grossly understaffed. Three years later Roger Billings joined Ontario Hospital as director of the Mental Health Clinic.
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