History

A Brief History of Guelph General Hospital

1875 – Original hospital opened – a two-storey building with 12 beds. The original steward and nurses of the hospital had a farm on the property that produced and supplied the patients with eggs, milk, vegetables, meat, etc. 

1888 – The Jubilee Wing was completed at a cost of $9,869.

1897 – The Albert Wing was opened. The hospital had capacity for 90 patients, a new Operating Room – considered one of the best in the province – and even elevators! Ladies Auxiliary formed – this is the current Volunteer Association.

1906 – Nurses’ residence built. The school of nursing was organized in 1888 and today there are 1,200 graduates from the school – 700 are still alive!

1911 – New, larger nurses’ residence built – current Family and Children’s Services building. The original nurses’ residence was moved to 63 Derry Street.

1912 – An Isolation Hospital was built – current Delhi Street Recreation Centre.

1951 – A new hospital was constructed adjacent to the old hospital, consisting of the current North and East Wings.

1957 – The old hospital was demolished and a new nurses’ residence built on its site.

1970 – West Wing completed.

1997 – Groundbreaking for construction of a renovated and expanded Guelph General Hospital resulting in a 330,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility. The cost was $76.4 million, $50.7 million from the provincial government and $25.7 million from the City of Guelph and County of Wellington. 

1999 – One hundred and thirty-five thousand square feet of new construction completed. Many high-tech departments move into their new space, and renovation of the North Wing begins.

2005 – GGH one of only four hospitals in the province to be designated “High Performing” by the Ontario Hospital Association

2006 – GGH one of five Ontario hospitals to be honoured with the Ontario Hospital Association’s Healthy Hospital Innovators Award

2007 – Guelph’s first MRI is installed at the Hospital

2008 – GGH named as lead hospital for a new Regional Vascular Services program

2009 – Hospital designated one of four Bariatric Centres of Excellence by the Province of Ontario

2009 – The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario selected GGH to be one of its “Spotlight” organizations that will implement a number of best practice guidelines during a three-year partnership

2009 – The team of Hospitalist physicians wins the Canadian Society of Hospital Medicine Award for Clinical Excellence for 2009

2012 – New hybrid operating room opens that is specifically designed to perform minimally invasive vascular surgery

2012 – GGH wins the “Patient Experience” award as a Leading Practice. The award is given to a hospital or organization that demonstrates “examples of patient-centred care across the continuum”

2013 – GGH Accredited with Exemplary Standing

2014 – GGH to be the home of expanded emergency and acute services to treat stroke patients

2015 – GGH removes traditional visiting hour restrictions

2016 – Nuclear Medicine services now offered
        – New Breast Assessment Clinic significantly reduces time spent waiting for a diagnosis

2017 – GGH receives the top award, Accredited with Exemplary Standing, for the second time in a row