1
The 1926 gold rush brought more than 1,000 men and 10 women to Red Lake. Two of those women were Red Cross nurses who stayed for three months during the summer, operating out of a big tent. The medical outpost was situated on the present United Church property on the shore of Howey Bay.2
Red Lake's first medical team1926
Red Lake, Northwestern Ontario, Canada
3
Eight Native men from Lac Seul, including Joe Cromarty and Nataway Keesic, manned the five freighter canoes that brought in the medical supplies. They were loaded down with 7,000 lbs. of equipment, including beds.The Red Cross nursing tent treated only men and only minor cases; any major incidents were flown out to McKenzie Island. Opening in 1934, this hospital was located near the McKenzie mine and had about six beds.
4
Tragically, Red Lake didn't have a proper medical facility until 1945 after disaster struck the morning of July 2.The Red Lake Hotel, a four storey, 58 room, wooden structure, burned to the ground in the middle of the night. The only thing available to fight the fire was a pump down at Howey Bay and a double length of hose. By the time the Department of Lands and Forests arrived with their twelve hoses, it was too late to save the hotel.
It was a total loss and to this day, it's still unknown as to how the blaze started. Eleven guests were killed and many more were injured. Many of the victims were rushed to Madsen's small hospital, which had three beds, or flown to McKenzie Island.
5
Red Lake residents were determined never to have to go through such an ordeal again. The next day they started planning for their own hospital. The Howey Gold Mine donated a bunkhouse and the community raised $50,000 through bingos, bake sales, penny drives and contributions from the mines.The Red Lake Memorial Hospital (Red Cross) opened in October 1946. It held 16 beds and six cribs and boasted an operating room, emergency room, x-ray department, delivery room and ambulance. Dr. J. McCammon was the original doctor and was later joined by four other physicians.
6
With five mines in full production in 1950, Red Lake was booming. Recruiting and keeping professionals was an ongoing challenge, as this excerpt from the Toronto Daily Star indicates.Red Lake, July 5, 1952 - "With bachelors at eight to one for every unattached female in the gold mining town of Red Lake, the Red Cross hospital outpost is fighting a losing battle to keep its nurses single and working. Since February, the entire staff has married, with the exception of the nurse in charge. In Red Lake, a nurse with matrimony on her mind can afford to be choosey. It's one of the few remaining female paradises where the gamut of available males runs from a mine manager to engineers, pilots and cooks. It's a hunting ground with every prospect earning over $250 a month and many owning cars. Every girl's a doll and romance buds and blossoms quickly."
7
The Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital, the only one in the Red Lake region1 September 2003
Red Lake, Northwestern Ontario, Canada
8
A new building was eventually constructed in 1972-73 when the Red Cross Hospital almagamated with the Margaret Cochenour Hospital in Cochenour, which was established in the 1940s. This formed the present day facility we know today, the Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital. It remains the only hospital in the area.This hospital is a 28-bed, modern facility which serves a population of about 10,000 and employs 125, including seven physicians.
Physiotherapy, chemotherapy, ultrasound, chronic obstetrical, and pastoral care are among the many services offered by the hospital today.
The facility even features the use of tele-medicine, linking heart patients in Red Lake with specialists at the Ottawa Heart Institute for consultation and diagnosis.
 |
 |
 |
 |