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People and organizations
Corporate body · 1930-1990

In 1930, the Sisters of St. Joseph opened Killam General Hospital, which remained open the longest of the four hospitals which they started in Alberta. Two years later, St. Paul's Hospital began in Rimbey. The hospital in Stettler had opened in 1926 and closed a year later, while the hospital in Galahad had opened in 1926.

In 1930, the F. E. Nichol home was purchased by the Sisters for the construction of the hospital in Killam. At this time, there were no grants from the provincial government for the construction or operation of the hospital. Killam General Hospital was given this name to demonstrate that all patients would be treated, no matter with which religion they were affiliated. Sister Jane Frances O'Rourke took charge of the hospital soon after opening. Sister Loyola Donovan followed as Superior and Administrator. In 1945, the hospital had 15 beds.

By 1946, the people in the community had observed for some time that a larger hospital was needed, and thus a wing was added to the hospital. In 1958, the Alberta Hospitalization Plan was put in place, and the Killam General Hospital was one of the first of Alberta's voluntary hospitals to adopt the idea of inviting lay persons of the community to help with hospital management.

In 1959, Sister Mary Lourdes Therens became the new administrator for the hospital. In 1963, during her time as administrator, a new hospital, chapel and residence for the Sisters was opened.

The Flagstaff Beaver Auxiliary Hospital was built and originally owned by the county, which had wanted a long-term care hospital. It was a separate corporation with its own board of directors.The county asked Sister Lourdes and Sister St. Bride if they would operate the hospital for the county. They agreed to do so, and it was administered along with Killam General Hospital as one facility but two separate corporations. There was an Administrator who was a Sister who oversaw a Director of Nurses position in each hospital. These positions were also filled by Sisters. The Auxiliary Hospital and General Hospital were connected by a corridor with double doors that were always left open. The Convent was also attached to the building. The Auxiliary Hospital shared the kitchen and boiler system with the General Hospital and the county paid a certain amount for this shared usage. The lab and x-ray departments were shared between the hospitals, and patients from the General Hospital went to the physiotherapy and occupational therapy departments which were at the Auxiliary Hospital. The Auxiliary Hospital provided long-term care and was known as the geriatric wing. The Auxiliary Hospital had 50 beds, and the Killam General Hospital had a small nursery.

In 1970, Sister Mary Kevin Moran became the new administrator for the complex. There was some lobbying for the Killam General Hospital to be turned over to the county, but the Sisters resisted this for twelve years. In the end, the county turned the Auxiliary Hospital over to the Killam General hospital.

The Killam General Hospital was in operation from 1930-1990 under the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1990, the Sisters withdrew from operation of the Killam General and Flagstaff Beaver Auxiliary Hospitals. In 1990, the hospitals were renamed the Killam Hospital Complex. At this point, the hospitals had 30 active beds and 150 chronic beds. In 2002, ownership was transferred to Alberta Catholic Health Corporation. The Convent was rented to home care for five years and is now also owned by the Alberta Catholic Hospital Corporation. The former Convent houses doctors' offices today. The hospital complex was later named Killam Health Care Centre.

Corporate body · 1927-1978

In 1927, following the Congregation of St. Joseph’s exit from Stettler, Alberta, Archbishop Henry Joseph O’Leary decided that a hospital was greatly needed in Galahad, AB. His request for one was granted by the General Superior and her Council, and in 1927, the Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in Galahad, AB. At this time, the only building available to the Sisters was a small 2 story teacherage. The building, which had no plumbing, consisted of only 6 rooms and came with little to no equipment that could be used for medical purposes. The Sisters were thus frequently required to improvise and make-do with what was available. During these early years in Galahad, the government provided no financial aid to the Sisters; consequently, they depended on funding provided to them by the community and via bank loans.

Throughout 1927, increasing numbers of settlers arrived in Galahad, AB. At times, this led to crowding within the existing hospital and to a heavier workload for the Sisters. Sister Jane Frances O’Rourke and Mother Patricia Coughlin are said to have played crucial roles during this time. Due to the growing role of the hospital and because of space constraints, plans for a new hospital building were soon underway.

In 1927, Mr. Hugh Taylor, (the sole real estate agent in Galahad, AB), offered the Sisters four and a half acres of land on which to build their new hospital. Following this acquisition of land, bids were tendered and the C. Gordon Company of Vegreville won the construction job. The Wheatland Municipality contributed $2,500 to construction costs. The new building, which consisted of two stories, a brick interior and large grounds, was officially opened by His Grace Archbishop O’Leary on September 3rd, 1928.

In 1932, the average number of patients was 20, and most were from the towns of Galahad, Forestburg, and Alliance. The first doctors to work in the hospital were Dr. Maynes and Dr. A.J. Cook. In 1947 Sister Loyola Donovan became Administrator and Sister Genevieve Casey became Superior of the Galahad Community.

In 1953, having conferred with the community, the Sisters advised that a new building was once again needed. They requested that a new structure be built - one that could house 45 beds and a 10 bed bassinet nursery. In 1953, having won the contract, Burns and Dutton started work on the project with Mr. Alex Fellows in the role of Construction Superintendent. The cost of the new building was estimated at $250,000.00, and was funded through a long term loan from the Bank of Montreal in Forestburg. In September 1954, the new building was officially opened and blessed by Monsignor Carleton.

In 1955, renovations to the old hospital were undertaken. Upon completion of the renovations, the building became living accommodations for the Sisters. During this time, the Chapel was also relocated nearer to the new hospital and was later blessed by Archbishop MacDonald in May 1955.

In 1962, an Advisory Board was established that included local business men and district farmers. This Board was meant to advise and assist the Sisters with matters regarding the hospital as well as Provincial and Municipal affairs.

On August 4th, 1973, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Galahad was granted full accreditation.

Toward the end of the 1970s, many physicians were leaving rural practice and vacancies created by retirees were not being filled. In the meantime, the Sisters also faced staffing problems. Since Vatican II, more professions and apostolates had become available to Sisters, which resulted in a decline of Health Care apostolates. All of these changes led the Congregation of St. Joseph to re-evaluate their ownership of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Galahad.

On August 31st, 1978, the Sisters of St. Joseph gave up their ownership of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Galahad. Thereafter, ownership was transferred by the Department of the Ministry of Health to Flagstaff-Hughendan Hospital District #55.

Corporate body · 1932-1949

The hospital was called St. Paul's Hospital and was owned by the Archdiocese of Edmonton. The Order of Benedictines ran the hospital for the archdiocese until they had to return to the United States due to their declining numbers. Archbishop Henry Joseph O'Leary then asked the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London to take over operations. Sisters Loretto Traynor, Liguori O'Dwyer and Lenora Doyle were the first Sisters from the congregation to work at the hospital. They were all trained nurses and were known for their success managing the day-to-day operations despite financial difficulties. This was because there was no financial support from the provincial government for private hospitals at this time. By 1945, the hospital had 30 beds.

In the 1940s, it became evident that a new and larger hospital was needed. A district vote was held to decide whether the new hospital should remain a Catholic hospital or become a municipal hospital. The vote was in favour of a municipal hospital. The Archdiocese felt this was for the best because they were having trouble financing the hospital without provincial support and thought it was in the best interests of the community to ensure quality of healthcare by relinquishing ownership. Upon the transition of ownership and the withdrawal of the Sisters, they were thanked by the community for the work they had done. The Sisters returned to Edmonton or to London and were reassigned to other positions.

Corporate body · 1926-1927

In 1925, the Board of Trade passed a resolution that the leaders of Stettler should ask Archbishop Henry Joseph O'Leary to set up a "Sisters' Hospital" in Stettler, Alberta. In turn, the Archbishop sent for four sisters from the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Diocese of London to run the hospital: Sister Patricia Coughlin, Sister Virginia Lobban, Sister Austin Gurvine, and Sister Jane Francis O'Rourke. They arrived in March of 1926.

Due to religious factions in the community, soon after it was known that the Sisters would be running a hospital, another proposal was made to establish a public municipal hospital instead. Since the voting on this issue was dragged out, the Sisters went ahead and began work in a small existing hospital. Upon arrival, the Sisters cleaned the building and ordered new supplies because the hospital was in a poor state. The local parish was very supportive and a nearby cottage was rented for the purposes of storage and an oratory for the Sisters to celebrate mass and have community prayers.

Meanwhile, a vote was finally conducted but failed to pass. After the district boundaries were redrawn, another vote was held in favour of a municipal hospital. Also around this time, the hospital's cottage was burned down by opponents. Both these factors contributed to the Sisters closing the hospital and moving to Galahad where the Village of Galahad had asked them to establish a Sisters' Hospital.