Women of Vision and Compassion: The Foundation of Health Care in Calgary‪.‬

In 1883, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was extended to Calgary, settlers poured in. By 1884, with a population of 424, it was largely a tent and shack town.(1) Disease and lack of medical amenities were facts of life. Although the North-West Mounted Police had a three-bed infirmary and a doctor, it was for its own use only.(2) Diphtheria and tuberculosis were common ailments, women could not obtain adequate maternity care, and people who had broken legs or arms often were unable to have them properly set. When the need to provide hospital services to Calgary became apparent, it was answered by two groups and resulted in the construction of two hospitals -- the Calgary General and the Holy Cross. About 1890, a Chinese man, known as Jimmy Smith, was grieved by the human suffering around him and prior to his death of tuberculosis, he left $100 with the request that it be used to build a hospital.(3) A response came from Jean Pinkham, wife of Calgary's Anglican bishop, who used Jimmy Smith's money as a incentive to "build his hospital."(4)