This July 27, the Prince County Hospital (PCH) will mark its 100th year of providing quality acute health care to the residents of Summerside and Prince Edward Island, announced Minister of Health and Wellness Doug Currie.
“The Prince County Hospital has been a cornerstone of Summerside for a century, providing the residents of Summerside and patients from across the province with quality, patient-centered health care services,” said Minister Currie. “From its earliest beginnings to the present, the staff, nurses and physicians at the Prince County Hospital have continually helped improve the quality of life for all Islanders.”
From the hospital’s original 1912 building in Summerside on the southwest corner of Central and Market streets (current location of Valufoods), to the construction of a new 105-bed hospital in 1951, to its present day 104-bed acute care version that opened in 2004, Prince County Hospital has been providing top-quality health care services to the residents of Summerside and Prince County for 100 years.
“The fact that Prince County Hospital has been able to thrive and adapt in an ever-changing health care climate over the last century is a testament to the excellence and dedication of our health care providers and staff and to the loyalty of the patients we care for,” said Arlene Gallant-Bernard, Executive Director of Prince County Hospital. “We are very proud of our hospital – past, present and future versions. More importantly, we are proud of the century’s-worth of remarkable staff, innovations, achievements, and advancements. We look forward to highlighting that exceptional work and look to the future with excitement.”
A committee comprised of Prince County Hospital staff and members of the hospital’s Foundation are meeting regularly to plan activities for the centennial celebration. A broader committee that includes community partners are looking at ways to incorporate the anniversary into community events during the spring and summer months.
The present day Prince County Hospital is Prince Edward Island’s second largest acute care hospital, providing a wide range of in-patient, out-patient and community-based health care services.
For more information about Prince County Hospital’s current services and programs, visit www.healthpei.ca/pch.
BACKGROUNDER
According to the book “This Caring Place: The History of Prince County Hospital and School of Nursing,” by Wayne Wright and Katherine Dewar, the first Prince County Hospital opened in Summerside on July 27, 1912, at the southwest corner of Central and Market streets – where the Valufoods and its parking lot exist today. The property was donated by Thomas E. Ramsay, a miner who was “one of those bewhiskered veterans of the storied 1849 California Gold Rush” – according to the book – who had amassed a fortune excavating precious ores in the American Wild West.
History of Prince County Hospital:
• July 1912: first Prince County Hospital opens (30 in-patient bed capacity)
• Early 1921: expansion and renovations to increase in-patient capacity and services (43 in-patient bed capacity)
• 1949 - 1951: construction of a new 105-bed Prince County Hospital on Beattie Avenue
• 1979: renovations to Prince County Hospital
• 2001 - 2004: construction of the present day Prince County Hospital located on Roy Boates Avenue
• April 2004: official opening of present day Prince County Hospital