- Explore just how far we’ve come by taking a look back – Enjoy the photo-gallery below.
- And take a “tour through time” of the campus buildings – Details and route map here
Ambulance
1889 – Mr. A.S. Bardal, the first ambulance attendant for WGH, and his ambulance. Mr. Bardal went on to open up Bardal Funeral Homes and his daughter Agnes Bardal Comack graduated from the WGH School of Nursing in 1943.
1910 – This was a motor-driven ambulance.
2016 – The Paul Albrechtsen Heliport at HSC was the first hospital heliport in Manitoba, receiving its first patient on Friday December 2, 2016. Approximately 30-40 patients per week are brought directly to our facility by air ambulance.
PsycHealth
The Psychopathic Building was built in 1919 and was the first of it’s kind in Canada associated with a general hospital and medical faculty. It was built on Emily Street between McDermot Ave and Bannatyne Ave (approximately where the John Buhler Research Centre stands today). It was demolished in 1993.
1993 – The new PsycHealth Centre was designed by Etienne Gaboury and opened in 1993.
Spiritual Health Services
As a non-denominational hospital, WGH did not have a chapel until 1964. This was HSC’s old chapel in 1996. Today the Spiritual Health team respectfully supports the needs of all – whether you identify as spiritual, atheist, religious or agnostic, all are welcome. The space was renovated in 2006 to become an inclusive sanctuary.
Student Nurses
WGH had the first School of Nursing in Western Canada and graduated the first class in 1889. The photo from 1966 shows student nurses learning about some of the equipment they will use. The photo from 1986 shows student nurses in their Nursing Arts class practicing on a mannequin. HSC’s School of Nursing was one of the last training schools in Manitoba and closed in 1993.
First X-ray machine
The first X-ray machine at the Winnipeg General Hospital was installed in 1900.
1956 – This is a photo of a patient being treated with Cobalt-60 radiation therapy. Nicknamed the Cobalt Bomb, it was first developed in Canada. It marked an important milestone for the fight against cancer and Canada’s emergence as a leader in the field of radiotherapy.
When HSC was created in 1973, X-Ray was still the most common imaging technology. Current diagnostic tools at HSC include MRI, CT, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound, Radiology and Angiography.
Kitchen
1962 – A photo from our archives of a new kitchen in the basement of the H wing, part of the main HSC building, in 1962 to accommodate a growing hospital.
Today, the Nutrition Food Services team is made up of over 111 staff who deliver about 1,800 meals every day to patients
Operating Room
1900 – Taken some time between 1905 and 1908, this historical photo shows our staff in an operating room at the Winnipeg General Hospital. A seating gallery allowed students to watch and learn from procedures.
Telephone Paging Operators
1960 – A photo of telephone operators answering calls in 1960.
Today, our team is made up of 39 Information and Paging operators who receive an average of 6,200 emergency codes and just over 1.3M calls annually. Thanks to this fantastic team for keeping us connected with their friendly voices!
Housekeepers
1977 – Two housekeepers cleaning the floors.
Fast forward to today, our Housekeeping Services team is made up of over 400 staff members who take pride in keeping Manitoba’s tertiary centre exceptionally clean for our patients, staff and visitors.
Central Energy Plant
Construction of the third Power House on campus was completed in 1917. It provided heat for all the buildings on the site including the University as well as the hospital. The Power House was repurposed in 1974 and is now the Maintenance building.
In 1974 the landmark Central Energy Plant opened on Notre Dame, complete with tunnel connections to other buildings on campus. In addition to providing energy services to all HSC buildings, the plant supplies some services to U of M and CancerCare Manitoba.
An additional energy plant was built to meet the present and growing utility needs of the hospital. Standing quietly on a tree-lined street within the HSC campus, the beautifully designed HSC Central Energy Plant 2 opened in 2014 and has been recognized for outstanding energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.
Maternity floor
1914 – Nurses on the maternity floor used a trolley to take the babies from the nursery to their mothers for feeding. This allowed them to move multiple babies at a time.
2019 – A Sunday morning moving a baby to Winnipeg’s new Women’s Hospital.
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