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nfcirhhamstotffryiltehpspitalj macehafejspp rags once upon a time our hospital was just a dream by paula crowell community news editor the markham stouffville hospital may seem to have risen from the ground at a fast rate but the time it took to get it going can be better measured in decades than in years the structure has come a long way since quiet meetings when the idea of a hospital for markham was first conceived the records of charter board member russ beare show that meetings to discuss a hospital for the area were held as aearly as 1957 these early meetings were attended by only a handful of residents howard cosburn john cattanach dr james scott and russell beare lions and jaycees beare explains that meetings were infrequent and although other residents were invited none ever turned out we didnt have a big enough group not enough weight to get the project off the ground he said it wasnt until june 1963 that beare suggested to the markham unionville lions club that 3000 be set aside for a hospital his fellow lions agreed that same year a group of young men belonging to the markham junior chamber of commerce jaycees took on a residents survey one of the questions was whether or not markham residents supported york central hospital which had recently opened in richmond hill keith brown one of the members of the jaycees says he was surprised by the results of that question more than half of those polled said they didnt support york central and some commented that markham should have its own hospital shortly thereafter unionville resident bill champion was invited to a meeting of the fledgling club the members wanted to take on a project and champion suggested they campaign for a hospital there was no doubt champion knew what he was talking about as a trustee of scarborough general hospital he knew how to raise public awareness and support i told them you have to pick something thats needed in the community and get someone with profile to support it champion suggested university director and real estate broker len mason and mpp don deacon the profile of these men would later prove to be a significant boost to the hospital cause in october 1963 the jaycees decided to publicly declare their support of a hospital until then there had been more talk than action on the project the following march the jaycees took the bull by the homs they invited representatives from a variety of service clubs to discuss the hospital project clubs which sent members to this meeting included the markham kiwanis the markham district veterans association markhamunionville lions club the markham fair board and the markham rotary club it was after this meeting that a coalition of service clubs and other citizens began a unified effort toward obtaining a hospital committees were set up to examine planning publicity and fundraising activities before the volunteers knew it they were jolted into action champion advised the jaycees of a piece of land available which would make an ideal hospital site the federal government was selling 35 acres on the northwest corner of the 9th line and hwy 7 it had been purchased as a location for an rcmp headquarters but the government changed its plans it was announced that tenders would be accepted until march 31 1966 hospital supporters rallied around to but disappointment awaited them as grace hospital decided it wanted a site within torontos border later conversations with st michaels hospital officials had similar results the downtown toronto hospital considered setting up a satellite facility in the north end and officials seemed interested in the markham site in early meetings but the proposal never even reached the contract stage and is but a faint memory in the minds of markham stouffville hospital board members in the meantime the board donated five raise the 43000 down payment needed to buy the land but board member keith brown says the deal slipped between their fingers when they were outbid by a developer this was the first dead end of many to be faced by the hospital board members it wasnt until late 67 when stouffville philanthropist arthur latcham responded to the need of the hospital committee that spirits were buoyed again he bought a 50acre parcel of land across 9th line from the rcmp lands and donated it to the committee on two conditions that it be used for health care purposes and that the hospital committee obtain a provincial charter the committee fulfilled latcham s second condition on jan 4 1968 thenprovincial secretary thomas wells granted the charter to the markham york hospital latcham s donation piqued the interest of stouffville residents in the hospital project people like dr blair mitchell keith sutherland jeann mann dr terry oconnor and others became involved giant hurdle cleared acquiring the land was like clearing a giant hurdle little did board members know there were many more to come before the province would give its assent until about 1970 the provincial government had a formula for establishing hospitals the minimum number of beds was set at 100 the ratio of beds to population was set at 5 1000 this dictated a minimum population of 20000 markham s population had almost reached the 20000 mark when the land was donated keith brown says that once they had the land members of the board went to queens park to talk with the minister of health about a hospital for markham while the then- minister michael diamond was encouraging hospital trustees found out the provincial formula had changed thats when we found out you had to have a population of 35000 he says board members were determined to obtain a hospital and searched out any opportunities to reach their goal when they heard grace hospital was looking for a hospital site they offered the land at 9th line and hwy 7 acres each to two residences for the mentally and physically disabled high point lodge and participation house it pleased the board members to create a use for some of the vacant land but for many more years those two buildings were the only things to break the horizon on the hospital site during the 70s support for the hospital continued to grow more people pledged membership fees and volunteers representing all facets of the community came forward to offer their help board member bill hood recalls the community of cedar grove as being particularly interested in the success of the project seemed they were always plugging for it he said the reesors and archie little really helped the hospital he said but the townspeoples support was only a start for the organizers they found it much easier to convince local people than to get the approval of the provincial government that nod required a decade of fancy footwork with a true blue tory government the provincial member of parliament at the time don deacon was a liberal his involvement with the hospital board made him that much more determined to convince the opposing party of the towns need deacon and other board members had several meetings with the provincial ministry of health and more often than not came out of them with feelings of hope and optimism there was always hope says keith brownbut just when youd think we were getting somewhere boom wed get a new minister of health regular cabinet shuffles it was hard enough for a liberal mpp to convince a tory government to spend millions of dollars in markham but as if that wasnt enough the provincial government made regular cabinet shuffles between 1968 when the hospital incorporated and 1982 when approval for the hospitals construction was granted there were seven ministers of health all under the same conservative provincial government lachlan cattanach who was a founding member of the hospital board and its chairman during several crucial years in the late 70s and early 80s is matteroffact about the political roadblock the province wasnt giving us an unqualified no the government wanted to be shown the need for the hospital and the ability to fund it it conducted a study in 1981 the hospital role study established need then it was up to the community to raise 5 million we went out and did it the 5 million was the towns 19 portion of funding it was raised in about 18 months and is considered to be one of the most successful hospital fundraising drives hospitals are financed 23 by the province and the remaining 13 by the region in which theyre built of the 13 footed by york region markham was responsible for 13 or as it was determined 5 million cattanach continues it put them the provincial government in a position they then realized all the essential ingredients were there the will of the community the ability to finance their the towns share and the establishment of need by 1982 when the hospital was approved markham was still the only town of its size in ontario without its own hospital from the time health minister larry grossman gave his approval in june 1982 until groundbreaking took place there were four more ministers as well as a change of government move considered the summer of 1985 proved to be a hot one for the board the board considered trading the hospital site on 9th line for a 50- acre lot on hwy 48 proponents said the hwy 48 location offered better access for markham and stouffville residents those against moving had their reasons too dr scott a founding member of the hospital board wasnt on the board when this issue arose but he asks have you ever seen a hospital in an industrial area with transports going in and out having to compete with ambulances the land offered to the hospital was unzoned at the time but it was surrounded by land slated for industrial development dr john white says the access on hwy 48 isnt as good for markham residents because ambulances would have to fight against traffic all the way up main street besides he says mr latcham bought that land on 9th line for a hospital theres absolutely no reason to move it from where it is that sentiment prevailed and the land deal disintegrated if there is any conclusion to be drawn from these conflicts it is that the people of markham and stouffville care deeply about this hospital from the late 50s when it was a dream of a handful of people until the present people have offered their time and money theres not a service club in either town which hasnt helped out mortar isnt the only thing holding together the bricks of this longawaited hospital it is the dedication hard work and the insupressible hope of thousands that made its construction possible