10
11
JASPER PLACE HISTORY PROJECT Misericordia Community Hospital
We hope this holiday season finds you in the company of chosen friends and family. Enjoy our holiday light canopy at Butler Memorial Park! 15715 Stony Plain Rd To our member businesses, community connectors, and Stony Plain Road residents:
A history of health care and workers’ struggles
Misericordia School of Nursing Building, May 1, 1969. Courtesy of the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. and the Provincial Archives of Alberta, J204.
facility was beginning to close down. A boiler explosion in the early 1960s caused structural damage. The east and west wings remained into the early 1970s as housing for children with mental disabilities, but everything was eventually torn down. Source: “ Misericordia Hospital ”, Edmonton Historical Board, WWW.EDMONTONHIS- TORICALBOARD.COM/STRUCTURES/MISERI- CORDIA-HOSPITAL/ MOVING TO THE WEST END The Misericordia Hospital opened in its west end location at 16940 87th Ave- nue on July 18th, 1969. The Misericordia Sisters had purchased 50 acres of land in the Jasper Place area, with the hospi- tal having 555 beds and 100 bassinets after it opened. The hospital, which cost $21 million to build, offered services that included general practice, surgery, medical services, psychiatric services, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediat- rics. It also had a laboratory and rehabil- itation medicine, an intensive care unit, an emergency department, and state-of- the-art operating rooms. The Misericordia Sisters left Edmonton in 1976 as their numbers were decreasing and they were not able to keep up with the increasing complexities of running a hospital. A non-profit organization, The Alberta Catholic Hospitals Foundation,
province of Alberta and affected all hos- pitals in Edmonton and beyond. In Au- gust 2021, while still in the thick of CO- VID-19 restrictions, a UNA Day of Action saw pickets outside health care facilities throughout Alberta, including the Mi- sericordia, to protest cuts to health care. Union members and supporters wore required face masks and held up signs on the sidewalk outside the hospital1. Pickets and protests have been more common than strikes, although the latter have happened. In March 1998, hospital support workers with AUPE held an illegal walkout and formed picket lines around Edmonton hospitals. The walkout only lasted a few hours until negotiators on both sides reached a deal2. In September 1971 workers with SEIU including clean- ing, clerical, and dietary staff struck for a better contract3. There have been far too many health care and hospital-related actions to cover in this article. An expanded ver- sion will eventually be posted online at JASPERPLACEHISTORY.ORG. REFERENCES FOR THIS SECTION 1 Many health care-related protests since 2005, including the ones mentioned here, are documented at RADICALCITIZENMEDIA. COM/HEALTH 2 Thorne, Duncan. “Short-lived strike brings new deal for hospital support workers”. Edmonton Journal, Saturday, March 21, 1998, page 1. 3 “Workers walk out at Misericordia.” Edmonton Journal, Saturday, September 18, 1971, page 34. What are your memories of the Misericor- dia Community Hospital? Send us your stories: JASPERPLACEHISTORY@GMAIL.COM Paula E. Kirman is a freelance writer who grew up, and still lives, near the Jasper Place area.
was formed to continue the Sisters’ work. The Misericordia Community Hospital, as it is now known, continues to function as a full-service acute care facility and is part of Covenant Health, which was formed in 2008 as a Catholic health care provider operating numerous sites and services throughout Alberta as part of the province’s health system. A new emer- gency department opened at the Miseri- cordia in 2023. Source: “ Misericordia Hospital celebrates 50 years in west Edmonton, ” Covenant Health, WWW.COVENANTHEALTH.CA/NEWS-AND- EVENTS/NEWS/MISERICORDIA-HOSPITAL- CELEBRATES-50-YEARS-IN-WEST-EDMONTON
By Paula E. Kirman
The Misericordia Community Hospital is operated by Covenant Health and is known as Edmonton’s west end hospital. However, it was not always in the west end and has been the site of a number of health care-related union labour actions. DOWNTOWN BEGINNINGS The Misericordia Hospital first opened as a 60-bed institution in 1906 on 111th Street between 98th and 99th Avenues. Its founders were four Quebec nuns and one nurse who, in response to an appeal from Bishop Grandin of the St. Albert Diocese, moved to Edmonton in 1900 to build a mission and care for unwed mothers and their babies. Prior to the hospital being built, the sisters used a four-room warehouse in the same area to complement the General Hospital which was also nearby and had opened five years earlier. The Misericordia Sisters also estab- lished a nursing school one year after opening the hospital. The first three students graduated in 1910, and the school graduated over 2800 nurses be- fore closing in 1996. The Misericordia Hospital expanded over the years, eventually having room for over 400 patients. However, by 1959 the building was showing its age and the
New Chapter for The George Spady Society Medically Supported Detox By Lindy Dowhaniuk, Director of Health Services people that use our services and to the people that love them.”
LABOUR STRIKES AND STRUGGLES
Workers at the Misericordia Hospi- tal belong to a variety of labour unions involved with the delivery of front line health care services, as well as workers in other roles like support staff. These unions include: • United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) • Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) • Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) • Service Employees International Union (SEIU) The Misericordia has been the site of a number of strikes and protests over the years. The labour actions usually fo- cus on wages and working conditions. Some of the actions have been specific to the Misericordia site, as recently as a July 2025 AUPE action demanding better wages and working conditions from Covenant Health. In October 2009, members of the UNA and supporters marched from West Edmonton Mall across the street to the Misericordia with the message to keep healthcare public. Other actions were connected to the state of health care throughout the
Inside the building, social workers, nurses, recovery coaches, client care workers, crisis workers, and physicians work together to support the whole per- son, addressing physical and mental health, housing, cultural supports, and whatever else comes up during each stay. The facility has 60 beds, with forty- one for initial detox and nineteen for longer stays that help people transition safely to their next step. “In the past, people were often dis- charged before they were ready,” said Graham. “Our ability to extend stays gives them more time to stabilize and transition safely”. In fact, the clients in their care do not leave the facility without a staff member accompanying them: “we want to keep them safe while they are in the early stages of recovery” After a few months in the new facil- ity, the team says they already feel part of the neighbourhood. “If you ask what people love most about the new space, they’ll tell you it’s the sunlight, and the care that went into every detail,” said Dowhaniuk. “It’s about humanizing people who live with addiction. This building helps do that. It feels open, kind, and less stigmatiz- ing, and that means everything to the
We look forward to getting to know our neighbors. To learn more about us please call 780-424-8335 x 222. The George Spady Society provides a continuum of support services to people with complex life circumstances associat- ed with substance-related and concurrent disorders and homelessness, empowering them to improve their lives through client- centered, evidence-based best practices. For more information visit our website at WWW.GSPADY.ORG.
After more than forty years in the downtown George Spady Society’s Med- ically Supported Detox has moved into its new home on Stony Plain Road. Two years of planning led to the move, and by late August the team was unpacked and welcoming clients once again. The new space at 15625 Stony Plain Road was chosen for its accessibility, close to the Jasper Place bus terminal, and designed from the ground up to support both clients and staff. “We wanted it to feel warm and welcoming for our clients,” said director Lindy Dowhaniuk. “And we wanted it to work well for staff. When we planned the move, we hoped to join this community, but what we found went far beyond our expectations. Our neighbours came to our open house, and the local restaurants, services and small business- es have been a real joy for our staff.” The program provides a safe, medi- cally supported place for people to with- draw from substances, stabilize their health, and begin their recovery journey. “We’re honoured to be the first door on that journey,” said Program Manager Leah-anne Graham.
The Misericordia Community Hospital. Photo taken in October 2025 by Paula E. Kirman.
For all your signage, printing & prop needs We specialize in custom interior/exterior signage, large-format printing, banners, sandwich boards, business cards, yers, postcards, lawn signs, carved cedar signs, themed centerpieces and large-scaled event props. www.signworksplus.com
15607 - 100A Avenue p:780.489.1028 e:signworksplus86@gmail.com
Powered by FlippingBook