District Nursing and the Alberta Hospitals
The first SOS venture into healthcare was in 1924 when Sister Catherine Wymbs, a nurse in WWI, began treating patients in Camp Morton, Manitoba. Sisters acted as district nurses in this community, examining patients in the Sisters’ own house or travelling via horse and buggy for home visits.
While most Catholic hospitals operated out of major cities, the SOS deliberately established themselves in rural communities. As Sisters expanded their medical credentials, some also went on to work in other hospitals in specialized roles, including mental health care, or in public health programs.
Sister Kathleen Allen and nurse place infants into an incubator, Edson, Alberta, 1955
Our Lady's Hospital, Vilna, Alberta, 1931
Pioneering Sisters Catherine Wymbs, Mary Rodgers, and Ann Geraghty arrived in Vilna to open a 9-bed hospital in November 1925. This farming community was founded by European settlers, largely from Lithuania, when the railroad reached the region.
In 1928, a new two-storey 14-bed stucco hospital was built and the hospital provided milk and eggs for the patients from its own mini farm. The local Ladies' Auxiliary and annual Hospital Days helped fundraise for building improvements and expansions.
St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1931
The Sisters of Service came to Edson on October 19, 1926 to reopen a vacant two-storey frame hospital and to provide health care in west central Alberta. In 1931, a larger hospital building was constructed, having 37 beds and 12 Sisters on site as nurses, dieticians, x-ray technicians and office staff with the assistance of lay doctors, nurses and support workers.
St. John’s Hospital was the only major medical facility between Kamloops, BC, and Edmonton, Alberta, and served not just the local residents, but miners from Coal Branch, lumbermen from the surrounding regions, and farm families. From 1928 until 1970, the hospital treated 47,300 patients.
Administration of the hospital was transferred to the Edson municipality in April 1991, with ownership going to the Alberta government.
Sister Ella Zink in the children's ward at St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1940
Sister Ella Zink in the children's ward at St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1940
Sister Leona Rose next to the medical sterilizer at Our Lady’s Hospital, Vilna, 1960
Sister Leona Rose next to the medical sterilizer at Our Lady’s Hospital, Vilna, 1960
Sisters of Service on the front steps of St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1952
Sisters of Service on the front steps of St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1952
Sister Mary Halder in front of the Teslin Health Centre sign, Teslin, Yukon, c. 1972
Sister Mary Halder in front of the Teslin Health Centre sign, Teslin, Yukon, c. 1972
Sister Mary-Ellen Francoeur behind a dog sled in Moosonee, Ontario, where she worked in mental health care, 1993
Sister Mary-Ellen Francoeur behind a dog sled in Moosonee, Ontario, where she worked in mental health care, 1993
Sisters hang laundry on clothesline outside Our Lady's Hospital, Vilna, Alberta, 1930
Sisters hang laundry on clothesline outside Our Lady's Hospital, Vilna, Alberta, 1930
Sister Dorothy Daley in the lab at St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1976
Sister Dorothy Daley in the lab at St. John's Hospital, Edson, Alberta, 1976
Sister Joan Schafhauser checks a baby's vision, High Level, Alberta, 1975
Sister Joan Schafhauser checks a baby's vision, High Level, Alberta, 1975
Sister Mary Halder on a public health visit, St. Paul, Alberta, 1965
Sister Mary Halder on a public health visit, St. Paul, Alberta, 1965
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