Founded by the Sisters of Charity of Providence in 1894, St. Paul’s Hospital is one of the oldest institutions in Vancouver, and it has the records to prove it! In 1978 Dr. C.E. (Ed) McDonnell, an internist at St. Paul’s Hospital with a keen interest in medical history, recognized the importance of preserving the hospital’s history, and organized a meeting with other individuals that shared his passion. With the encouragement of Executive Director Dr. Hugh MacDonald, Shanny Sochowski, an alumnus of the St. Paul’s Hospital School of Nursing, presented a proposal to the hospital’s Board of Directors asking for support to develop an Archives. As a result, a small committee chaired by Dr. McDonnell was formed to begin the process of planning an Archives.

After several committee meetings, the St. Paul’s Hospital Archives was eventually founded in 1979, funded almost entirely by the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee, with some funds provided by the School of Nursing Alumnae Association. The medical staff, therefore, was instrumental in the establishment of the Archives, and continued to provide funding until the hospital assumed that responsibility in 1984. The space for the Archives was provided by the hospital. For the first few years, accumulated archival material was stored in the basement of the Burrard Building; however, when the operating theatres were relocated to the new Providence Building in 1983, the Archives was established in the former doctor’s lounge on the sixth floor of the Comox Building. After two subsequent moves, the Archives is currently located on the third floor of the Comox Building, the former School of Nursing residence.

The Archives was staffed entirely by volunteers for many years. From 1978 until 1996, Robert Gregory, retired Manager of Stores, was Archivist. He was responsible for "rescuing" much of the oldest material in the Archives’ collection, including the earliest Board and Medical Advisory Committee minutes; early handwritten patient and financial registers; administrative records; original photographs; and artifacts, including many pieces of medical equipment illustrating the evolution of medical practice throughout the hospital’s existence. During the early years, a trip was made to the Sisters of Charity of Providence Archives at Providence Centre in Edmonton, in order to make copies of material relating to St. Paul’s. This included the hospital’s first admissions register and photographs dating back to the time of the original 1894 building.

Due to its close association with the School of Nursing Alumnae, the Archives also assumed custody of the School’s archives. Established as the St. Paul’s Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1907, the School was closed permanently in 1974. The archives includes official student records, transcripts, and graduating class composites and diplomas from 1910 until 1974. Among the diplomas in the collection is that of 1910 graduate Gertrude Jenkins; printed on vellum, the diploma bears the signature of the hospital’s first doctor-in-residence, Dr. H.B. Gourlay. Jenkins, the top student in her class, later married Gourlay, and their son, Dr. Robert H. Gourlay, also enjoyed a lengthy career as a physician at St. Paul’s.

The story of the Gourlay family is but one example of the remarkable events and individuals documented at the Archives. For instance, the Archives holds records pertaining to the career of Sister Charles Spinola. Arriving at St. Paul’s in 1906, Sister Charles graduated from the Training School for Nurses in 1912, and became Supervisor of Surgery; she was later in charge of the Operating Room and the Laboratory. In the hospital’s early days, methods of treatment were still quite crude, including the administration of anesthetic. In 1919, Sister Charles invented the ‘St. Charles Ether Machine’, a vaporizing machine designed to provide a more even flow of anesthesia to the patient, thus reducing possible dangerous after-effects. Upon the advice of several doctors, she patented the machine in 1924. Although encouraged to name it after herself, she refused, and modestly named it after her patron, St. Charles; interestingly, the patent mistakenly refers to Sister Charles as "him." The innovative device was implemented in hospitals throughout the country.

In 1933 Sister Charles became the official manager of the X-ray Department; while there, she continued to develop several inventions. In 1938, she created an X-ray identity machine out of a packing case, a treadle from an old sewing machine, and an electric light bulb, saving the hospital the expense of purchasing such a machine. She remained in the Radiology Department until 1963, when she retired after fifty-seven years at the hospital. Her nephew, Benny Gagnon, who trained under her watchful eye, later became Head of Radiology.

Another innovator at St. Paul’s, Dr. Harold Rice, designed and built the first heart-lung machine in Canada from parts that he machined himself in the hospital’s basement. The machine was used in the first open heart surgery performed at St. Paul’s in 1960, and in over 1,000 additional heart surgeries, until the early 1970s. The Archives has both the original heart-lung machine and a pediatric version also built by Dr. Rice on display.

After twenty years of successful volunteer management, the first professional archivist was hired at the Archives in 1999, for one day per week. During this entire period, Dr. McDonnell continued to be deeply involved in the activities of the Archives. The Archives now employs one professional archivist two days per week, assisted by two volunteers one day per week. In March 2003, the Archives’ mandate was expanded to include all Providence Health Care sites. To date, records have been transferred from St. Vincent’s Arbutus, Heather, Brock Fahrni, and Langara sites; Mount St. Joseph Hospital; and Youville Residence.

On September 29^th, an Open House was held at the Archives to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary and the official opening of its new display space. A special event was held in the morning, at which Dr. McDonnell, whose own birth record may be found in the Archives, was honored for his many contributions to the Archives’ development over the past twenty-five years. Former long-time volunteers Shanny Sochowski and Rene Carlin were present, as were several original Archives Committee members. All expressed the hope that the Archives will continue to document and preserve the history and traditions of Providence Health Care. One thing is certain, the richness and complexity of the records found at the Archives today would not exist were it not for a group of dedicated individuals brought together by a common ambition to record and sustain the history of the organization for which they had come to have such a strong affection. As the current PHC Archivist, I feel fortunate indeed to have such a strong foundation upon which to build.

          —Melanie Hardbattle

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© 2004 Archives Association of British Columbia