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Nursing

The nurses at the Kirkland Lake Hospital and later Kirkland Lake and District Hospital provided first-class care to their patients. For women wanting to pursue a career in nursing, they had to travel to larger cities like North Bay and Toronto to receive formal training before returning to work in the north.

Althea Contant and Dianne Merrell are featured in our "Nursing" chapter. Both ladies had extensive nursing careers in the Kirkland Lake area. Althea went on to establish the first Emergency Room and Poison Control Centre at the Kirkland Lake Hospital. With her nursing background and her experience with her own son, she would also go on to develop the Community Living organization. Dianne worked at various levels at Kirkland Lake and District Hospital and went on to teaching nursing at the clinical level. She was also involved with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON).