Construction of the original Galt Hospital in 1891 was financed by Sir Alexander Galt, owner of the Northwest Coal and Navigation Company. Coal miners in the Oldman River Valley desperately required health care due to unsafe working conditions. Frequent exposure to dust and toxins often led to illnesses such as pneumoconiosis (black lung disease), pulmonary disease, asbestosis, and cancer.
Read MoreWere you born in the Galt Hospital? What about your grandparents?
In 2010, Wendy Aitkens curated an exhibit about the history of the Galt Hospital, and we are now interviewing her about the content that she put together in that exhibit. In this video, Aitkens explains the construction of the different buildings that were part of the Galt Hospital from the late 1800s until 1955. From setting apart a "Sunbeam Ward" for children to treating polio patients in an iron lung, the Galt Hospital was the primary hospital in Lethbridge until the construction of the Municipal Hospital in 1955.
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