The Jewish General Hospital is one of Montreal’s largest hospitals and a leader in research, teaching and patient care. With the massive increase in Montreal’s Jewish population in the 1920s, the directors of the Montreal Clinical Society, which comprised some thirty Jewish physicians, pioneered the idea of establishing a Jewish hospital. The new institution was intended to address bed shortages in the city’s medical facilities, but above all to counter discrimination against Jewish patients and health professionals in the healthcare environment (Dr. Samuel Rabinovitch’s forced resignation from his position at Notre Dame Hospital in June 1934 was a high-profile example of such discrimination). At the time, Montreal had one Jewish clinic, namely the Herzl Dispensary (founded in 1912), and the Hebrew Maternity Hospital (founded in 1916). During the 1920s, these institutions were unable to meet the rising healthcare demands of the Jewish community, which was growing rapidly due to large-scale immigration. Today, they are considered to have been precursors to the Jewish General Hospital.
Despite the Great Depression, businessman Alan Bronfman was able to raise funds for the hospital, which opened its doors in October 1934. Bronfman remained the hospital’s president until 1955. In 1939, McGill University selected the Jewish General Hospital as one of five teaching hospitals at which its medical students could do their internship. This relationship was strengthened in 1969 with the founding of the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, and in 1979 through the hospital’s full affiliation with McGill University as a teaching institution. After World War II, the hospital developed and modernized rapidly, adding new pavilions and departments over the years. Inaugurated with 200 beds, the hospital went on to increase its capacity significantly and has 637 beds today. Important milestones in its history include the creation of the following four units: the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry (1969), the Herzl Family Medicine Centre, the Cardiovascular Prevention Centre (2006) and the Segal Cancer Centre (2006).
According to the will of philanthropist Sir Mortimer B. Davis (1866-1928), his multi-million dollar fortune was to go to a Jewish hospital if he had no direct descendant 50 years after his death. This was indeed the case, and the Jewish General Hospital became the beneficiary of his estate in 1978. The institution and its new research institute were thus renamed in honour of Sir Mortimer B. Davis and his wife, Lady Davis, respectively. Located in what is today one of the city’s most multi-ethnic areas, the hospital serves a diverse population, including many recent immigrants. Although the majority of its patients (some 75%) are not Jewish, the institution offers culturally specific services for the Jewish community.
Compiled by Valérie Beauchemin, translated by Helge Dascher.
Sources
Special Feature on the JGH Jewish General Hospital.
Our History Jewish General Hospital.
King, Joe. Fabled City : The Jews of Montreal. Montreal: Éditions Price-Patterson Ltd., 2009.
Medresh, Israel. Between the Wars: Canadian Jews in Transition Montreal: Vehicule Press, 2003.
Wright, Alexander. Our Tribute Everlasting: 50th anniversary, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, 1934-1984. Montreal: The Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, 1984.
