The Greatest Doctors of the 19th Century

Previously published in Examiner

The very first hospital in Montreal still in existence is called Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.

We briefly mentioned the founder of Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal a layperson by the name of Jeanne Mance. She established the first nurses in Montreal in the 1600's and today the hospital remains a training center for nursing.

We looked at the origin of free healthcare in Montreal, starting from the men and women of the colony of New France, now we will turn our attention to the some of the greatest Canadian doctors of the 20th century.

The first medical schools were founded in Lower Canada (Quebec) in the 1820's. Canadian surgeon Dr. William Kelly, was instrumental in introducing sanitation methods into hospitals following the 1871 cholera epidemic.

Dr. William Osler

The Montreal Medical Institution was the first medical facility in Canada and was the faculty of medicine at Montreal's McGill University. Canadian born Dr. William Osler, was one of the founding fathers of The American John Hopkins Hospital.He is known as the father of modern medicine. "Osler was a pathologist, physician, educator, bibliophile, historian, author, and renowned practical joker."Osler trained in Toronto, then enrolled in Montreal's McGill University to finish his medical degree. He was appointed Chair of Clinical Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and then went on to become the first chief of medicine and the first Physician-in-Chief of the new Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland USA.

The 19th century brought with it concerns for the condition of the poor in Canada and its efforts providing medical care to all people especially the poor. Dr. Osler and many others were key contributors to health care in Montreal, and Lower Canada.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Hospitallers_of_St._Joseph

http://www.marguerite-bourgeoys.com/en/chapel/marguerite-Bourgeoys.asp

http://www.sgm.qc.ca/sgm/anglais/a_frameset.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Osler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/medical-cost-disability-11/slideshow-top-11-medical-expenses?ecd=wnl_day_062511