THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY LIBRARY HEALTH UNITS OF ALBERTA by ADELAIDE SCHARTNER Health Unit Associati on of Alberta Co-op Press EDMONTON ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Health Units of Alberta was commissioned by the Executive of the Health Unit Association of Alberta as a 50th anniversary project. Funding for the work was made possible through the generous contributions of the various health units, Shell Oil Company of Canada, .grants from the Minister of Social Services and Community Health and the Minister of Culture. The manuscript could not have been written without the cooperation and support of dozens of health unit personnel - all of whom gave generously of their time in digging into the records of past decades. It was they who made available the information and material upon which this book rests. ln that sense, this is very much their story. All told, hundreds of hours were spent in gathering material through inter­ views and the study of hundreds of feet of records. Unfortunately, much had to be left out of the completed manuscript because of the obvious limitations of space. Although one can not possibly mention all those who gave of their time and expertise, the efforts of Sharleen Chevreaux, Lorraine Kiel, Kevin Majeau, Jim Miller, Carol Mitchner, Robert Pool , Sandra Weir, and Iris Winston must be mentioned. A special thank you goes to Dr. Louisa Dupuis, Archivist at the Grey Nuns Regional Centre in Edmonton, for access to their records of the early years in Alberta and to Dr. E. A . Mitchner, the project's director, and his wife, Carol, for their care and assistance in nursing the manuscript into its final form. Copyright© 1982 Health Unit Association of Alberta No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electrical or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system , without written permission from the Health Unit Association of Alberta, except for brief passages quoted by a reviewer in a newspaper or magazine . 3 DEDICATION This book was commissioned by the Executive Committee of the Health Unit Association of Alberta in th e fall of 1980. Its purpose was to mark the 50th Anniversary of health units in Alberta with the inception of the first two health units in Red Deer and High River-Okotoks. It is intended to record the development, growth and implications of the role of health units to the people of Alberta in maintaining a high standard of public health. Hopefully this history will not only bring an awareness ofprogress, but will instill a sense of pride in the accomplishments of the past. Armed with this historic knowledge, we who are at present involved in public health - from board members who set policy to those working in the field - can be justly proud of our role in public health today. Spurred with this knowledge and renewed interest, we can all then continue to pursue the needs of the future. The material used to write this history has been compiled by a number of researchers in co-operation with key people in health units. It was not intended to write a history listing only names, dates and events, but to record th e drama, the humor. and the "human" events which took place in the course of the past. The intent was to produce a publication which would capture the interest of the reading public as well as persons involved in delivering services in public health . Through this publication, I would like to pay tribute to those men and women, the pioneers in public health, whose lifework helped to provide an improved standard of health in this province, as well as acknowledge those who are at present in the field providing care and direction in what is becoming an increasingly more complex world. The diseases and epidemics of the past are being replaced by the social, biological and environmental problems that are here today and seemingly will be with us in the foreseeable future. I wish to thank the health units who contributed extra funds as well as material to make this history possible. Special thank you goes to the Honourable Mr. Bob Bogle, Minister of Social Services and Community Health as well as Dr. Sheila Durkin, Deputy Minister, for providing both financial and moral support in the production of this publication. Health Units have quietly and unpretentiously been delivering a heroic and unsung service to the communities of Alberta for 50 years. It is time the story was told! DOROTHY FRENCH Chairman, H.U.A .A. October, 1981 5 CONTENTS President's Message .......... ... ............................................... .. ........... .. 3 Table of Contents . 5 Introduction . 7 - ) Public Health in the Northwest Territory 1859- 1905 .................................... 14 --7The Formative Years of Public Health 1905-1930 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 The City of Edmonton Local Board of Health ......................................... .. 31 The City of Calgary Local Board of Health .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 44 District Nursing . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54 Okotoks - High River and Red Deer Rural Health Units ............................. 62 Health Unit Expansion: 1938- 1980 .. ............................... ... .... .. ............... 74 Southern Health Units: Barons - Eureka . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 88 Warner . .. .. .. .... .. .... .. ...... ... .. .. .. .......... .. .... .... .. 93 Chinook ... ..... ... .... .. .. ............ .. ... ........... ........ .... .... .. .... ... ..... ... ... ... 96 City of Lethbridge . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. I 02 City of Medicine Hat .... ... ............................................................... 107 Central Health Units: Alberta East Central . 114 Alberta West Central ............ .... ....................................... ...... ....... .. 118 Banff .. ... ............... ... .............................. ..................................... 123 Big County . 126 Drumheller ........ .. .......... .. ... ... .... ........ ... ..... .......... ... .... ... ... ....... .. .. .. 132 Jasper .... .. ................ .............. ....... ......... .... .. ............................. .. 138 Leduc-Strathcona .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 141 Mountview .. ........ ...................... ... ... ........................ .. .... .. .... .. ....... 148 Minburn-Vermilion . 153 Northeastern Alberta - St. Paul ................... .. ... .. ................... .. ......... 156 Stony Plain - Lac Ste. Anne .. .... .......... .. .. ........................... ....... ...... 161 Sturgeon ............ ...... .......... ........ ........... .. .. ..... ..... .. ........ ... ............ 169 Vegreville ... ................. ........... ........ .... ..... ...... .. ... ............ ...... ....... 173 Wetoka .................... ...................... ...................... ..... .. .. ......... ..... 176 Northern Health Units: Athabasca . 185 Fort Mc Murray and District . 194 Grande Prairie . 204 High Level ........ ...... .. .... .. .. ........ .. ..... .. .. .. .. .... ... ......... .. ...... .. .. .. ... ... 211 Peace River ....... .............. .. ..... ..... .. ...... .... .... .... .... ... .... ......... ......... 216 The End of the Beginning ............... .. .. ......................... ........... ............ 222 7 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ln 1832 cholera struck the eastern seaboard of North America. From St. John, Halifax, Quebec and Montreal the killer disease spread inland and up the St. Lawrence River to the settlements on the Great Lakes. Carried by immigrants and travellers there appeared to be no defence against its coming. The epidemic brought fear and terror to the Canadian countryside. Business came to a halt. Farmers feared to enter the settlements Jest they catch the infection . Those that could fled the villages and towns in panic, hoping to escape. Those that escaped most often credited it to their own high moral standards. After all it was the poorer classes that were hardest hit. To the righteous, gin alley and beer lane were the obvious culprits. As the disease swept through the crowded tenements and slums the authorities tended to see this as a result of loose living rather than a result of impossible unsanitary housing conditions. It was not the beer or gin that made the lrish immigrant and French-Canadian more susceptible to cholera but the fatigue, overwork and inadequate diet of their station in life. The first known case of cholera occurred in lndia. From there the disease worked its way into Europe and Great Britain finally wending its way across the Atlantic on crowded immigrant ships. Ship captains pressed as many people into their holds as possible. Seldom were passengers permitted to go topside to get fresh air and their food was whatever they had brought with them. Treated like cattle they could do littl~ but persevere. At sea these overcrowded conditions proved good breeding grounds for the infectious disease. Then unwilling to face a long lay over in quarantine upon arrival some of the captains dumped their human cargos onto off-shore islands or along lonely stretches of beach by night. The immigrants were to make their own way into the colony. Some of the unfortunates were cholera carriers and as they moved about seeking homesteads they hastened its spread. The first major outbreak began in Quebec in 1832. Other outbreaks occurred in 1834, 1849, 1851 , 1854, and 1866. The last known case in Canada was