1938 to 1949

1938 Admitted to Rotary International 

Prior to 1945 Southampton’s hospital was a cottage on Leader Lane in Southampton. It was where babies were born and the kitchen table was used for tonsillectomies and appendectomies.

In 1945 Ellis Millard thought that Southampton should have a proper hospital, built to honour the men and women who had fallen in World War 2.

In 1945 Hillcrest Lodge, formerly owned by the furniture-making Bell family, was purchased by the Southampton Rotary Club for $15,500. Plans were drawn up to renovate the building and add an additional wing. The Ontario Government provided a $25,000 grant. In total $160,000 was spent to ready the hospital for its October 17, 1947 opening. The hospital had a capacity of 21 adult beds, 2 child beds, and 7 infant cubicles.

In its first year of operation, 1,116 patients used the hospital and 96 babies were born. There was no OHIP at that time. Private rooms were $6-$7 a day, semi-private was $5.25 and ward beds were $4.50. At its October 17, 1947, opening the Minister of Health at the time called the new hospital “One of the finest, if not the finest hospitals in Canada.”

Today Southampton’s hospital continues to be a very important part of the fabric of our town. Southampton Rotary continues to support the hospital in many ways so that it will be available to the community when needed.