Dartmouth General Hospital

Dartmouth General Hospital
Nova Scotia Health Authority
Emergency department entrance
Location in Nova Scotia
Geography
Location 325 Pleasant Street
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Coordinates 44°39′14″N 63°32′51″W / 44.6538°N 63.5476°W / 44.6538; -63.5476Coordinates: 44°39′14″N 63°32′51″W / 44.6538°N 63.5476°W / 44.6538; -63.5476
Organisation
Care system Public
Hospital type Teaching
Affiliated university Faculty of Medicine,
Dalhousie University
Services
Emergency department Yes
History
Founded 1976

The Dartmouth General Hospital is an acute care hospital in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

It is a 24-hour emergency, inpatient medical, surgical and critical care facility that has been operating since 1976. It serves approximately 120,000 people in Dartmouth and the eastern Halifax Regional Municipality. It is located on Pleasant Street (Route 322) across from the Nova Scotia Hospital. It is operated by the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

History

The construction of the Dartmouth General Hospital was many decades in the making. On Natal Day in 1940, the town of Dartmouth launched fundraising efforts for a 50-bed hospital, which had reportedly been suggested 30 years earlier.[1] A series of public meetings in 1942 were held in support of the project, and the Dartmouth Memorial Hospital Association continued to raise funds.[2]

During the 1970 provincial election, Dartmouth South incumbent MLA I.W. Akerley was defeated by Scott MacNutt, who campaigned on the promise of building a "long overdue" general hospital in Dartmouth. After his election, MacNutt was appointed health minister.[3] In late 1973, a sod-turning ceremony for the new hospital was held. It was officiated over by MacNutt, the newly elected mayor Eileen Stubbs, and tourism minister Glen M. Bagnell. The 109-bed hospital (since expanded) was estimated to cost $5.4 million, but ended up costing about $11 million. The province paid 80 per cent while the City of Dartmouth paid 20 per cent.[4]

After the Dartmouth General Hospital opened in 1976, the old Dartmouth Emergency Hospital was shut down. The new hospital's emergency department began operations on July 7, 1976.[5] The hospital was formally opened on January 14, 1977 by Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan and Bagnell, who unveiled a memorial plaque in the building lobby. The first inpatient was admitted in March 1977. An intensive care unit was inaugurated in October 1979. Construction of a $5 million expansion to the hospital began in 1980.[5]

In August 1996, the hospital treated the cast and crew of the award-winning Titanic film after an angry crew member laced a serving of lobster chowder with the hallucinogenic drug phencyclidine (PCP).[6][7]

In 2015, responsibility for the hospital was transferred from Capital Health to the newly formed Nova Scotia Health Authority.

Services

  • 24-hour emergency department
  • CT scanning
  • Dentistry
  • Ear, nose, and throat surgery
  • Inpatient medical, surgical, and critical care
  • General radiography
  • General surgery
  • Gynaecology
  • Laboratory services
  • Mammography
  • Oral maxillofacial surgery
  • Orthopaedic surgery
  • Outpatient services
  • Plastic surgery
  • Renal dialysis
  • Urology

Expansion

A major expansion of the Dartmouth General began in 2017. Estimated to cost between $132 and $138 million, the project will add 48 beds and increase the number of operating theatres from four to eight.[8] A three-storey building addition is under construction.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Chapman 2000, p. 302.
  2. ↑ Chapman 2000, p. 308.
  3. ↑ Chapman 2000, p. 435.
  4. ↑ Chapman 2000, p. 445.
  5. 1 2 Chapman 2000, p. 452.
  6. ↑ Cagle, Jess (13 September 1996). "PCP-laced chowder derails Titanic filming". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ↑ Kansas, Jane; Methot, Andrea; Patterson, Lynne; Teed, Chuck; Thorne, Tara (4 September 2003). "Halifax 101". The Coast.
  8. ↑ "First tender issued for Dartmouth General Hospital construction". CBC. 14 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Berman, Pam (27 June 2017). "'Complex' 3-floor addition underway at Dartmouth General Hospital". CBC.

Bibliography

  • Chapman, Harry (2000). In the Wake of the Alderney: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 1750–2000. Dartmouth Historical Association. ISBN 0969664672.
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