Guelph General Hospital celebrating 150 years

Guelph General Hospital is celebrating 150 years of serving the community.

The hospital has become a cornerstone of care in the Royal City and has grown alongside the community it serves since starting out as a two-storey building with 12 beds.

Mark Walton, who has been Guelph General’s CEO and president since taking over for Marianne Walker in 2023, said the hospital is a place that the community can be proud of.

“As this was coming up, all sorts of stuff started coming out of the woodwork; we have archives, we’ve got doctors that have been here for decades,” Walton said.

He said people started bringing newspaper articles from the 1970s, along with other items, to commemorate the occasion. Walton said it’s a great opportunity for him and the rest of the community to reflect on the work the hospital has done.

He said it’s important to celebrate and recognize the hospital’s presence in the community.

“I believe that a hospital is one of those cornerstone institutions that everybody needs at some point and time in their life, whether it’s for a loved one, birthing a child or receiving medical care in time of crisis,” he said.

Walton said talking about the anniversary is a good way to inspire conversations with the province about working together.

He said it’s not only their job to deliver care, but to work with their partners in government to ensure they’re aware to invest in growth and infrastructure so they can serve the current population and meet population demands in the next decade or 150 years from now.

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While it celebrates its history, Guelph General is also looking towards its future.

The hospital is opening a new medical centre in December at the Conestoga College campus in Guelph.

Walton said they’ve been working hard for the last year and a half to turn it into a reality. He said the centre will look to accommodate growth in the city.

“We’re going to be putting a second MRI into that site and relocating some of the ambulatory services that are currently served out of our of Delhi Street campus,” he said.

As a result, Walton said they’ll free up room to offer more acute care at the Conestoga location.

The hospital is launching a series of events over the next several months through its communications channels to celebrate the anniversary.

He said the hospital is also working with the city and museum to try and plan a series of exhibits, which would feature old equipment displays and documentation, among other items.