90th anniversary flashback: The campaign to build the JGH kicks into high gear
As the JGH’s 90th anniversary approaches, JGH News today looks back at:
- The fund-raising campaign in the late 1920s to build the JGH
- The 1981 launch of Hope & Cope
- Birth of quintuplets in 1992
- Opening of an ultra-secure HIV/AIDS lab in 2007
Four new archival items appear every Tuesday in the 90 days leading up to the 90th anniversary on October 8. Everything that’s been published so far can be found in the JGH News archive.
* * * * *
A cartoon in a fund-raising brochure (circa 1930) urges prospective donors to support construction of the JGH, quoting one of the founders, Michael Hirsch.
On September 22, 1929, more than 3,000 members of Montreal’s Jewish community gathered at the Mount Royal Hotel to launch the $1 million capital campaign to build the JGH.
This resulted in an intensive, multi-year push which, unfortunately, coincided with the collapse of the stock market and the beginning of the Great Depression.
Nevertheless, dedicated donors and volunteers—bolstered by financial support from the provincial government—were successful in raising the amount required for the hospital to open in October 1934.
So strong was the determination among the city’s Jews to build the hospital that some individuals insisted on honouring their financial pledges, even if it meant paying in installments until the early 1940s.
* * * * *
Hope & Cope brings essential support to cancer patients
In September 2014, Hope & Cope founder Sheila Kussner (second from left) accepted a plaque of honour from (from left) Suzanne O’Brien, Executive Director of Hope & Cope; Howard Dermer, Chair of the JGH Foundation; Dr. Gerald Batist, JGH Chief of Oncology and Director of the Segal Cancer Centre; Myer Bick, President and CEO of the JGH Foundation; and JGH President Allen Rubin.
In 1981, Hope & Cope was launched under the auspices of the JGH Auxiliary to use specially trained volunteers (many of whom were cancer survivors) to support and counsel cancer patients and their families.
Within a few years, Hope & Cope became an independent organization (though still very closely linked to the JGH) and a global leader in meeting the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and their families.
Sheila Kussner’s painful, teenage struggle with cancer convinced her that cancer patients and their families desperately needed emotional and psychological support, as well as practical, reliable information about their disease.
And it was Mrs. Kussner who launched Hope & Cope at the JGH after convincing nay‑sayers that valuable support could be provided by volunteers who themselves had had experience with cancer.
In addition, she assembled a team of dedicated professionals to help make Hope & Cope an international pioneer in psycho-social assistance during treatment and recovery from cancer.
Hope & Cope has been instrumental in sparking a revolution in attitudes and approach by championing the notion that emotional, psychological and spiritual needs must assume greater importance, as patients forge intimate bonds with volunteers.
* * * * *
Five times the joy!
The JGH made headlines across the continent and as far away as Europe on April 27, 1992, when the hospital became the first in Quebec where quintuplets were born.
The two girls (Zeina and Tina) and three boys (Joe, Jad and Rami), born 10 weeks premature, each weighed between 1.13 and 1.63 kilograms (2.5 to 3.6 pounds).
They were delivered by Dr. Arvind Joshi, who was Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Mary’s Hospital and part of the JGH high-risk team.
Dr. Apostolos Papageorgiou, JGH Chief of Pediatrics, supervised the babies’ care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for two months. Both doctors called this event a highlight of their careers.
* * * * *
Ultra‑secure lab for HIV/AIDS research is launched
Testing and research into HIV/AIDS took a major step forward in June 2007 with the inauguration of a $5 million HIV/AIDS Bio-containment Laboratory whose development was spearheaded by research pioneer Dr. Mark Wainberg.
Dr. Mark Wainberg attends the launch of the HIV/AIDS Bio-containment Laboratory in 2007.
Dr. Wainberg, who was Director of Research for the Lady Davis Institute at that time, used the lab to grow the HIV/AIDS virus for research and to test tissue samples to determine how patients respond to various types of medication.
The new laboratory, affiliated with the McGill AIDS Centre, was among the few Level 3 facilities in a Canadian hospital. It was also one of only two Quebec centres authorized to check the virus’ genetic sequences to determine whether they had mutated and become resistant to anti-viral drugs.
Opening the lab was the latest research milestone for Dr. Wainberg, who was recognized internationally for his expertise in HIV/AIDS, including development of a drug that has been instrumental in saving millions of lives around the world.
Tragically, Dr. Wainberg died on April 11, 2017, while vacationing in Florida. He was the recipient of numerous international honours, including the Order of Canada and the Order of Quebec.
Related Posts
