Fort Erie Douglas Memorial - What happened

The site opened in 1931 as a bequest from Dr. William Douglas - it was a fully functioning hospital with 55 beds that took care of the needs of people in Fort Erie, Ridgeway, Crystal Beach, Stevensville and surrounding areas.

Gradually overtime local community groups held fundraisers and helped to support the local hospital purchasing much of the needed equipment to continue to better serve the people

We had a Board to help manage the business part of healthcare and we had many of our local Doctors that helped provide emergent services as well as patient care at the hospital. Children were born here and yes there was also end of life. As time moved on we had a long term care and senior care facility built onto the hospital.

So what happened:

Fort Erie became part of the Niagara Region and in 1970. One regional government replaced two counties and 26 municipal structures. In 1984 the Regional Council became the governing body under the Ministry of Health for the Public Health department.

1990's more and more services are put under the Niagara Region. We still had a full service hospital in Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Welland, Niagara Falls and a number of hospitals in St. Catharines (St. Catharines General, Hotel Dieu, Shaver Hospital).

In December of 1996 the District Health Council report threatens to close local hospitals.

In 1996 a public forum was held to help save the Fort Erie Hospital the concerns of the day were:

1/ No emergency service, there would be a walk in clinic open 12 hours a day

2/ No hospital beds for intensive care, maternity, pediatrics and surgical patients;

3/ A 30 minute car or ambulance ride if available to the nearest hospital;

4/ Small hospitals targeted for closure;

5/ This means a Board governing it that would give Fort Erie very little voice

In June 1997 the Government develops a rural health care framework which allows Fort Erie and Port Colborne hospital to stay open and that people will be able to have 24 hour access to emergency services

1999 there was a Government policy directive to restructure hospitals in Ontario.

Stay tuned