Helen Douglas MacRobbie, WLMH Hospital Administrator with nurses
Helen Douglas MacRobbie (wearing corsage) with the nursing staff at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
L-R - Miss Gordon, Ruth Schinbein, Jean Graham, Joan (Levi) Traicoff, Louise Oldershaw, Douglas MacRobbie, Margaret Templin, Grace Lewis, Lillian Jewson, Mrs Kennedy
Name/Title
Helen Douglas MacRobbie, WLMH Hospital Administrator with nursesEntry/Object ID
P2008-01-31-42Description
Helen Douglas MacRobbie was the first administrator of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. She started out as a young nurse in Hamilton, and after a few years of nursing, was appointed to set up and administer the Red Cross Blood Donor’s service across Hamilton and surrounding areas, including Grimsby. Meanwhile a new hospital was proposed for the area. Charles Eames generously donated the clubhouse of his Deer Park Golf Club on Park Road South for that purpose. After a concerted effort at fundraising across the communities of Grimsby, Smithville and Beamsville, the clubhouse was renovated and became the first hospital in Grimsby. Miss MacRobbie was well known in the area because of her involvement in the blood donors’ clinics. She also had a connection with the area, having spent many summers in Grimsby. She was a natural choice to fill the position of superintendent in the new hospital. At the time, the hospital was considered a model small-town hospital with18 adult beds, 2 children’s beds, 8 basinettes, a surgery, maternity, and nursery. When the hospital officially opened its doors on January 7, 1946, Miss MacRobbie began what was to become a remarkable twenty-seven-year career at this health institution. Unfortunately, only two years after it began operation, the hospital was struck by a devastating fire. Miss MacRobbie supervised the evacuation of the patients and the moving of all the supplies and equipment. She was reported to be the last person to leave the building just before the roof collapsed. In the aftermath of the fire, a temporary hospital of 16 beds was set up in Nixon Hall at 262 Main Street West, and by the time a new hospital was built over 1,000 patients had been cared for in the temporary quarters. The second West Lincoln Memorial Hospital opened in October 1949 on Main Street East. It had 34 beds and a nursing staff of 15. Over the years, as the hospital grew, Miss MacRobbie’s responsibilities as administrator grew along with it. Another ward, known as B Ward was opened in 1961 with 25 additional beds, and a year later a full-time surgeon, Dr. J. K. King was hired. In 1968 came another major expansion that added a new wing with 24 new surgical beds, a physiotherapy department and an intensive care unit. This was followed by a Phase 3 expansion. Throughout all these disruptions, the hospital continued to function. Miss MacRobbie praised the staff for their “tremendous team effort.” She remained as administrator until the third expansion was completed in 1972. This dedicated health professional, who once described her position as hospital administrator as somewhat akin to co-ordinating the various functions of a huge machine, shepherded West Lincoln Memorial Hospital through its most formative years. Her service and that of the hospital staff made the hospital beloved and respected by all the communities it served.Context
W.L.M.H ,Gordon, Schinbein, Graham,Graham, Traicoff, Oldershaw, MacRobbie, Templin, Lewis, Jewson, KennedyCategory
Photos - Hospital & Medical