Museum of Health Care

Museum of Health Care
Established	1995
Location	Ann Baillie Building, National Historic Site, 32 George Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 2V7
Type	History of Health and Health Care
Curator	Dr. James Low (Acting Curator)
Website	www.museumofhealthcare.ca

The Museum of Health Care is located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is situated in the Ann Baillie Building, a National Historic Site of Canada and former residence for nursing students at the Kingston General Hospital's School of Nursing. The School of Nursing closed in 1974, after the Ontario provincial government transferred the training of nurses to colleges and universities. In 1995, the Museum of Health Care was relocated to the Ann Baillie Building. It is the only museum in Canada dedicated to the history of health and health care.

One of the largest collections of medical and healthcare artefacts in Canada, the Museum of Health Care at Kingston is home to a wide-range of artefacts and archival documents and photographs from surgical tools to laboratory instruments documenting how people have preserved health and managed disease, pain, and suffering from the late 18th century to the present day. The Museum strives to connect visitors with the experience of people in past times and provide context and perspective on contemporary health issues. The Museum serves the general public, practitioners, students, and historians through exhibitions, interpretive programs, and special events throughout the year.

Biographical Note

First conceived in 1988 by founder Dr. James Low, Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen’s University, the Museum of Health Care was born in 1991 when it began to build its collections of medical and general health objects and archives from across Canada.

The Museum relocated to its permanent home in the former nursing-student residence at Kingston General Hospital in 1995. The historic Ann Baillie Building is a beautiful 1904 Beaux-Arts style limestone structure and National Historic Site commemorating the history of nursing education in Canada. The Museum is a non-profit corporation and registered charity and has had a Board of Directors since 1996.

The Museum strives to preserve the material history of the medical and healthcare past with the goal of enhancing public understanding of the history of health and health care, particularly in Canada. The Museum acquires, conserves, researches, displays, and interprets artefacts that help to tell these stories. The Museum also serves as a primary resource for scholarly work in the history of health care.

Museum galleries are located both in the Ann Baillie Building and in a network of Outreach Galleries in healthcare centres in Kingston.

The Museum also has a commitment to scholars: the Museum benefits from the presence of the Hannah Chair, History of Medicine at Queen's University, Kingston General Hospital Archives, Queen’s University Archives, and Bracken Health Sciences Library at Queen’s University.

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  Nurses Home, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Collections

The museum has an extensive collection of artifacts and archival documents, dating from the 18th century to the present. There are approximately 30,000 items in the artefact and archival collections.

The Museum’s collections include a wide range of artefacts including medical, surgical, and laboratory instruments, commemorative objects, and patient care items. Some of the larger collections feature artefacts from the areas of anesthesiology, renal dialysis, orthopaedics, cardiology, patent medicines, nursing, and X-ray.

Significant artefacts include:

·Melrose New Electronic Products Ltd. Extracorporeal Heart and Lung machine with oxygenator, ca. 1958

·“Kingmed” dialysis machine designed and produced at Kingston General Hospital, 1967. Last surviving model.

·A large collection of cardiac pacemakers, 1950s – 1990s

·Prostheses collection (hip, elbow, knee, leg), c.1920-1975.

·Iron lung built at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto during a polio outbreak, 1937. Believed to be the last surviving unit in Canada.

·A rare Waite & Bartlett electrostatic generator unit, circa 1910. Used for electrotherapy treatment and early X-ray imaging and treatment.

·A rare collection of medical moulages, (wax gynaecological and obstetrical anatomical teaching models), produced in Kingston, Ontario, 1940s by artist Marjorie Winslow under the guidance of Dr. Edwin Robertson of Queen’s University.

·Microscope used by Dr. James B. Collip.

·Over 750 items in the collection of Canadian nursing uniforms, documents, photographs, and memorabilia, 1880s to 2000.

·Over 2700 objects in the Museum’s collection of drug containers and pharmacy objects (late 18th century to late 20th century).

·4000-item collection of medical artefacts from the former Academy of Medicine, Toronto, including:

·Army surgeon’s regulation instrument case, by Gardner, Stodart, circa 1812. A field set belonging to Dr. Henry Grasett, surgeon-in-chief to forces during the War of 1812

·A Mayer & Meltzer carbolic steam sprayer, circa 1870. Technology developed by Dr. Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister for sterilizing operating rooms.

·Antiseptic midwifery washbasin, 18th century. Used at the first obstetrics clinic at Vienna University Hospital during the time of Dr. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis.

The museum includes both on-site and off-site exhibits, focusing on the development of medicine and health care, in its operations. Also in operation, is a walking tour, created in partnership with the Kingston General Hospital, of the Kingston General Hospital National Historic Site of Canada.

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  Waite and Bartlett electrostatic generator unit. Accession Number: 006030001

Tours

Current details of the Museum's guided tours and education programs can be found on the The Museum of Health Care website

Official Site

The Museum of Health Care at Kingston

See also

• History of medicine
• Medicine

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.

References