WHITBY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1.1l Wlitby General Whiiby General Hearibeat is a The name -of the column was new column about the Whitby suggested by Karen Elston, a healh General Hospital, which will appear record technician ai the hospital. in The Free Press every two weeks. ,Histo.ry of the hospital By BRIAN WINTER On May, 14, 1970, The Hon. John P. Robarts, Premier of Ontario, of- ficialy opened the Whitby General Hospital, then known as the Dr. J.O. Ruddy Gencral Hospital. This 100-bcd hospital, although started in 1967, had really taken almost 25 years to compîcte. In 1944, Dr. Joseph O. Ruddy, a native of Uxbridge Township, returned to Canada after spending 17 years as a physician for oil coin- panies in South America. He settled in Wlitby where bis cousin Donald Ruddy lived and took over the medical practice of Dr. RT. MacLaren who was retiring. Almost from the day he came to Whitby, Dr. Ruddy saw the need for a general hospital in the com- mnunity. Hc was particularly concerned about the need to -treat medical emergencies in the town without having to send patients to Oshawa or Toronto. 1 SIn 1949, when the old Ontario County House of Refuge was to be replaced by Fairview Lodge, Dr. Ruddy proposed that the county home bc convcrted into a general hospital. He approached a Dutch order 0f. nursing nuns and the Grey Sisters to operate the hospital, but the arrangements did flot work out. For the next 10 years Dr. Ruddy promoted bis idea of a general hospital for Whitby, with littie suc- cess, until 1960 when a citizens' meeting was cailed to look into the subjeet. The resuit was the formation of a stecring committce, headcd by Dr. Ruddy. Application was made for a charter for the Whitby Hospital Association, which was granted in Novembcr 1962. It was signed by 100 people who each subscribed $100. On Feb. 28, 1968, the first board of governors for the Whitby General Hospital was formed, consisting of 18 membcrs, with Dr. Ruddy as president. Consultants were hircd to examine 22 possible, sites, and finally accepted a proposaI by On- tario Minister of Health, Dr. Mat- thew B. Dymond to buold on land near the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital s0 the two hospitals could share facilities. In the spring of 1965, "the first major building fund appeal in 113 years" was launched to raise haif a million dollars as Whitby's share of the hospital's cost. The campaign slogan was "Heed the Need, Give With Speed." By June 1966, the fund was within $30,000 of its goal and Craig, Zeidler and Strong, of Peterborough, were hired as architeets. A building committee, headed.by Dr. Ken Hobbs, was appointed, and on Nov. 15, 1967, Dr. Dymond tur- ned the sod on a wet, snowy day., In 1968, the Whitby General Hospital was named after Dr. Rud- dy, in honor of his leadership in bringing the hospital to Whitby. Early in 1987, the hospital cor- poration voted to revert back to the naine of Whitby General Hospital, to give the hospital a higher profile in the community,. particularly with new residents who were not awùre that Whitby had a hospital. A second fundraising drive was held in 1969 to obtain additional funding. Thesame year, Dr. Ruddy died at the age of 68, only months before the hospital was completed. The first patient was adxnitted to the hospital on Dec. 17, 1969. One disappointment faced by the board of governors, was that the provin- cial government would not permit them to open a 10-bed obstetric unit, which was included 'in the original plans for the hospital. For six years Whitby had a 90-bcd medical-surgical-pediatrichospital, until 1976 when Ministry of Health introduced financial cutbacks, which reduced the Whitby hospital to 65 bcds. The second floor was closed, but it was not empty for long. A study showed the need for continuing care facilities for the clderly in Durham Region, and the provincial governent accepted a recomn- mendation by the Durham District Health Council to use the second floor as a 32-bcd continuing care unit. The continuing care unit opencd on June 13, 1984, fulfilling a critical nccd for such facilities in the region. The latest addition to the Whitby Genèral Hospital is a heleport for emergency transportation of patients, which opened on Sept. 30, 1985. WHITBY GENERAL HOSPITAL UNDER CONSTRUC- TION, NOVEMBER 4, 1968 Whitby Historical Society photo rFORMtlERP DOMI]NION STORES LIMITED (DOMGROUP) E PLOYEES nl The following is the employment opportunity procedure for former Dominion Stores Liniited employees who are on lay-off as of February 1, 1987 for employment with Mr. Grocer (franchisees of Willett Foods Ine.). FI Former Dominion Stores Liinited employees must register their interest ti employment opportunities no later than April 3Oth, 1987 by completmng the forin below and forwarding it to the Industrial Relations Department at Central Canada Grocers bIc., Suite 201, 22 St Clair Avenue East, Ibronto, Ontario, M4T 2S5. El The franchisees shaHl be obligated to offer the positions to the candidates with the abilities to do the jobs and chosen from the geographic districts outlined in the former Dominion Stores Limited Collective Agreementand in accordance with candidates overail length of service wiîth Dominion Stores Limited. El Applicants who qualify shail be telephoned with an offer of employment and-further, will be mailed a registered letter (to their address on file) requiring that they report for work not later than seven (7) days after such telephone cail. El Applicants who fail to comply with the requirements set out above shail have their naines removed froin the employment opportunity list. Candidates hired under the terins of this letter shail be hired as new hires and shail receive the starting rate of pay under the Mr Grocer (Wilett Foods finc.) Collective Agreement. El It is understood that the employment opportunity rights of al formner laid-off Dominion Stores Limited employees mentioned herein will be terminated effective January 31,11990. El If additional information is needed, please cail at the following: Ibronto London- Hamiton Ottawa (416) 441-2000 (519) 673-4030 (416) 524-0113 (613) 727-9397 Issued by Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union, Local 414, AFL-CIO-CLC I REQUEST FOR NAME: ______________________ *EMPLOYMENT ADDRESS: - *TELEPHONE NUMB3ER: __________ FORMER STORE LOCATION: ___________________ SENIORITY DATE:______ ______ JOB CLASSIFICATION AND DEPARTMVENT: ______________ BRIEF IMJRK EXPERIENCE: * SIGNATURE: __________________DATE:_____________________ IMAIL TO: CENTRAL CANADA GROCERS INO., STE. 201, 22 ST. CLAIR AVE. E., TORONTO, ONTARIO M4T 2S5.I