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Pages WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY June 1996 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT Medicine in B.C. from 1850 On By: Anne Vernon Dr Ed McDonnell was bom in West Vancouver but moved to Vancouver and Edmonton, before returning to BC, where he graduated from UBC then McGill Medical School Dr McDonnell returned to BC to practise in Vanderhoof Later the doctor specialised in internal medicine and practised at St Pauls Hospital for 30 years. He chaired the B.C. Medical Association and the Historical Medical Society of BC. (when the Medical Museum & Archives was formed.) Last year the doctor was honoured for his contribution to the preservation of medical history in BC. Dr McDonnell and his family have lived in the British Properties for 30 years. Dr McDonnell chose 1850 to begin his talk as it was in that year that our Province, then the last unexplored area of the world, came to the attention of many different adventurers -both official and unofficial. The first medical men arrived on ships and were really barber surgeons (usually from (jreat Britain) who were charged to collect specimen plants for the Great Physics Garden at London’s Kew Gardens. There were, of course, others who came with the gold seekers who poured into BC over the next few decades. One of the first “doctors” who practised here was actually Chief of Agriculture for Hudson’s Bay Company and his territory covered what was to become British Columbia, Washington and Oregon! Of course the Hudson’s Bay Company were here in force, coUecting sea otter pelts which were greatly in demand for making the beaver hats which all men of fashion wore at that time. However, the famous Beau Brummell changed that when he began to wear silk top hats! Between the fashion change and the influx of American settlers, who mostly came over to the West Coast by the famous Oregon Trail, the Company was squeezed out of Oregon and Washington and British Columbia became a Crown Colony -and attracted many “quacks” who intended to practise here. This led to the setting up of BC’s own examination procedure for authorising qualified doctors. Dr McDonneU covered all of the incredible medical strides which have been made in the past 150 years - from Lister’s hygiene and Pasteur’s discovery of bacteria to X-Rays, by-pass and heart and kidney surgeries, ECG’s and on into nuclear medicine. He also paid tribute to the highly qualified nursing staffs who have been so essential to our wellbeing over the years and who have also become more knowledgeable and sophisticated, in pace with their medical colleagues. Today medicine and pharmacology have made great strides. We are working with high-tech machines and drugs which allow us to save and prolong lives. Great strides have been made in the genetics field and this has inevitably led to difficult ethical questions. Dr McDonnell reminded us that we have some rather unrealistic expectations of the medical profession today. Our greater ability and knowledge has put many burdens upon us -not least of which is the financial strain. We, the public, will have to take a greater part in making decisions, both financial and ethical, which will soon have to be faced. A very far cry from the barber surgeons of 150 years ago! BOOK REVIEW By: WaringPentland THE STORY OF LIONS GATE HOSPITAL THE REALIZATION OF A PIONEER SETTLEMENT’S DREAM 1908 - 1980 BY SALLY CARSWELL Following on the subject of our feature speaker I went looking for the history of the Lions Gate Hospital. I was delighted to find this excellent account by Sally Carswell. As she follows the development of hospital facilities on the North Shore it is obvious that West Vancouver played but a small role in the early years. From day one a bedroom community, it turned to Vancouver for hospital service. Not surprisingly, early pressure for a local hospital in North Vancouver City was primarily a result of its industry. Accidents requiring medical attention were more frequent than in West Vancouver; workers tended to look to their own conununity for services. The West Van Ferry system and later the Blue Bus service on the Lions Gate Bridge encouraged use of Vancouver hospital service. Moving between North and West Vancouver before the universal use of automobiles was always difficult. It is no wonder that West Vancouver’s enthusiasm for a centralized North Shore hospital was so long in coming. Standing out clearly in Sally's account is the difficulty in lining up three municipal councils behind a common cause. If it was not for the overwhelming public concern and determined action by doctors and other medical interests the centralized hospital might have foundered over political infighting. Though West Van was slow to become involved, members of the conununity finally took an active and prominent part in the hospital society that evolved in September 1954. Among the seven representing West Vancouver on the Board of Directors was Roy Keay - President, Mrs. Ross Munro - Secretary, Dr. E. Therrien and the vetrinarian. Dr. J. Folinsbee. In 1938, this same Dr. Therrien personally drove my mother and me to the old North Vancouver General Hospital where he sewed up a finger that 1 partially lost to an axe. Long time residents of the North Shore will find this a readable and excellently researched story, showing how local politics hindered, but could not stop this essential community development. Now out of print, this book is still to be found on the shelves of North Shore libraries.