November 27, 2024, marks the 100th anniversary of the grand opening of the Civic Campus.
For a century, the Civic has been at the heart of Ottawa, touching countless lives and setting the stage for groundbreaking advancements in Canadian healthcare.
As we look ahead to reshaping healthcare for the next century, we invite you to check out these 100 extraordinary moments from our past — moments that define the spirit and strength of our hospital and our community.
Celebrating 100 moments
19504/100 – Ottawa’s first female OB/GYN
Dr. Emily Gear was Ottawa’s first female OB/GYN, pictured here (front left) with a group of medical interns outside the Civic Hospital in 1950. Dr. Gear and her husband, Dr. Frank Berkman, a cardiologist at the Cardiac Unit (now called The University of Ottawa Heart Institute), lived across the street from the hospital so she could be at the Civic in minutes to deliver a baby. Dr. Gear had a practice in the basement of her home with a full-time nurse.
“Her nurse was like another grandmother to us,” recalls Dr. Gear’s daughter, Janet Berkman. “She’d come up at noon and join us for lunch.”
Janet also remembers many men over the years parked in the driveway of their home on Melrose Avenue, too uncomfortable to come inside with their wives.
“Mom loved the people at the Civic Hospital,” Janet adds. “She did rounds there every morning and was there all the time for deliveries. The Civic was almost like her second home.”
202499/100 – Special message from Mayor Mark Sutcliffe
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, a proud Ottawa resident and longtime community advocate, knows firsthand the incredible impact the Civic Campus has had on our city over the last 100 years.
But did you know it was also an Ottawa mayor, Harold Fisher, who fought hard to make the Civic Hospital a reality a century ago, despite significant pushback?
We are grateful for Fisher’s foresight all those years ago and thankful that today, Mayor Sutcliffe is both a supporter and advocate of our hospital.
In this personal video — which marks moment 99 of our 100 Moments series — he shares his thoughts on The Civic’s remarkable legacy and The Ottawa Hospital’s bright future in our community.
2024100/100 – The Future of Healthcare
In this 100th and final moment of our series, President and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital, Cameron Love, delivers a personal message on why the Civic has meant so much to his family and how the incredible legacy of the past 100 years has led us to this moment in time – and will usher us forward into the next century of healthcare.
200098/100 – The Civic’s longest-serving caretaker
If you’re looking for the person who knows the Civic Campus best, it might just be Fred Kendall. You could say he knows the building right down to its bones.
Fred has worked on our facilities team for nearly 25 years and is currently The Ottawa Hospital’s Capital Projects Manager.
Fred knows all the nooks and crannies of the Civic Campus — and despite the challenges an old building poses to a person who works in facilities management, Fred still has a lot of love in his heart for this old girl.
Take a few minutes to meet Fred. One of the Civic Hospital’s longest-serving caretakers.
196097/100 – From Black Shoes to Red Roses
Ruth Thomson Over the years, more than 4,000 nursing graduates had made the symbolic walk down the front stairs of the Civic, red rose in hand after graduating from The Ottawa Civic Hospital School of Nursing. Among them was Ruth Thomson (née Affleck) who knew from a very early age that she was destined to become a nurse.
“As a little girl, all my dolls had bandages, incision lines, and marks of trauma, all inflicted by this would-be nurse,” Ruth wrote in her book entitled From Black Shoes to Red Roses.
Ruth enrolled in 1958, paying $100 tuition over two years, which included uniforms, room, and board. She received her red rose and white shoes on June 1, 1960, and says, if she had the chance, would choose nursing all over again.
“It was a decision I never regretted and a choice I would repeat in spite of the many professions and opportunities offered to women at this time.”
Ruth adds that the Civic has served our area well over the last century but is excited about the Campaign to Create Tomorrow and the creation of a new world-class healthcare facility.
201996/100 – Community Moment from Dale Hayes
“My best memory of the Ottawa Civic was November 22, 2019.
My older brother, Glenn, who was 60 at the time, had just had a heart attack in Kemptville. He was rushed to the Civic by ambulance from Kemptville General.
When we got word, our family quickly gathered at the hospital — full of stress, anxiety, and fear. The staff were incredible with us all, but especially with my sister-in-law, Donna, and, most importantly, my brother. They saved his life.
The staff, whatever role, but especially the doctor and nurses, were amazing. Caring. Thoughtful. Considerate. Sympathetic. Funny. Patient. Knowledgeable. They explained what transpired, what to expect, and what was next.
God bless them all and thank you for all you do daily, but selfishly, thanks for saving my big brother on November 22, 2019.”
Dale and Glenn with their mom