Rockwood Asylum featured in new exhibit at the Museum of Health Care
The Museum of Health Care at Kingston has installed a new temporary exhibit, with Rockwood as the first subject.Colloquially known as Rockwood, the city’s first psychiatric hospital has had many names over the years. With artifacts, panels, and even supplementary media links, this small exhibit provides a short overview of the hospital’s history from its beginning all the way to closure.
Special Event to Celebrate New Addition
Information about mNRA vaccines, such as that for COVID-19, has been added to mark this important time in medical history. To celebrate the gallery update, the Museum is holding a special event!
The Story of Dr. C. H. Bird and Dr. H. G. Bird and their family practice
Meet father-son medical team Dr. Charles H. Bird and his son Dr. H. Godfrey Bird! Collectively, this pair of
Museum hosts event celebrating the 125th anniversary of arrival of x-rays in Kingston
On Tuesday, November 16th the Museum of Health Care was pleased to host a virtual event celebrating the 125th anniversary of the arrival of x-ray technology in Kingston.
Presented by the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, the presentation included a history of x-ray technology from 1896 to present.
The Story of Dr. Lajjavati Man Mohan and her medals
Dr. Lajjavati Man Mohan, born February 24th, 1918, was Kingston’s first ever Indian-born doctor. Dr. Mohan was highly accomplished, having trained at Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi and served at the military Indian General Hospital in Punee, as well as at Queen Mary's Hospital in Lucknow.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
What is the purpose of a museum? To help people understand the past? To show items that most people would not see? To preserve and display articles from the past so that we can better understand our present? To give a fuller picture of how life used to be? A museum can be all these things, but a museum, especially one with a more modern focus, can be so much more.
A Necessary Public Service to Uphold: Kingston General Hospital and the Hospital Funding Crisis of 1867
The loss of KGH’s annual grant from the newly formed government in 1867 not only greatly impacted the hospital, but the Kingston community as well. Recognizing the growing value and importance of the hospital to the community, KGH’s Board of Governors and members of the community rallied to save the hospital at this critical juncture in the history of health care in Canada, when the idea of supporting public hospitals was still in question.
Laudanum: Freedom from Pain for the Price of Addiction
On Canada Day, the Museum of Health Care unveiled a new exhibit entitled “A Stubborn Illness” about the health of Sir John A. Macdonald and his family. When I first toured the gallery I was struck by the intriguing medicine prescribed to Sir John A. Macdonald’s first wife, Isabella Clark. Visitors seemed to share my sentiment and several have inquired why laudanum is no longer a popular treatment. Further investigation of laudanum and Isabella’s relationship with it reveals that though the drug provided pain relief, its side effects and risks far outweighed its benefits.