One of Windsor-Essex's health systems is about to delve into its colourful past.
The Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is putting together what it calls a Heritage Plan. Many details have not been finalized yet, but the plan's framework was discussed recently during the hospital board's monthly meeting.
Bill Marra, vice-president of external affairs at HDGH, says the hospital is striving to make its mark for the future while remembering its past.
"What's incredibly important as far as our presence here is also to remember and celebrate our heritage, our founders, and our history," says Marra.
Marra says the heritage plan will help converge three different strings of HDGH's history in one.
"One is out of the Religious Hospitalers of St. Joseph, who established Hotel-Dieu and opened the doors 129 years ago this month," says Marra. "In 2020, we'll be celebrating 100-years for Grace Hospital. This campus on Prince Rd was established by IODE, the Independent Order of the Daughters of the Empire, a faith-based organization, in 1910. So we feel it's come upon us to ensure we can continue to celebrate and understands our history and our founders."
A new staff member has been hired to gather information and put the heritage plan framework in place. This involves going through the hospital's archives and finding artifacts, and determining what may be missing.
Different public areas of the hospital are being scouted as potential galleries for artifacts to be displayed, with the long-term goal being to put together a walking tour to allow visitors a chance to check out periods of the hospital's history.
"We have items that date back to 1888 that are well-preserved," says Marra. "We have documents, we have pictures, and we're thinking about taking advantage of all the space on this campus."
Marra believes that four years since the realignment of the local hospital systems, the timing of the heritage plan is about right. He also pointed out that the current celebrations of Windsor's 125th birthday, as well as Canada and Ontario's sesquicentennials, were just coincidental.
The heritage plan will be paid for primarily through private donations and HDGH's Changing Lives Together Foundation, rather than public tax money or ministry grants.