The history of The Scarborough Hospital is really the history of two hospitals: The Scarborough General and The Salvation Army Scarborough Grace Hospital.

It was the Sisters of Misericorde who, with their determination and leadership, conceived, planned, financed and oversaw the construction of the Scarborough General Hospital. At that time, the hospital was surrounded by farmland, and Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road were nothing more than dirt roads. But the Sisters and the Township of Scarborough, led by Reeve Oliver Crockford, foresaw the need for healthcare services would dramatically increase over the coming decades.

The Sisters bought the parcel of land for $30,000 and construction began in 1954 on what was originally a 200-bed hospital (with a provision built in for its ultimate expansion to 500 beds). It opened in 1956.

Over the years, the Sisters oversaw several expansions at Scarborough General until it became obvious that they could no longer assume the heavy financial responsibilities of maintaining the hospital. They turned over ownership of the hospital to the Province of Ontario in 1972.

By this time, the provincial government – along with The Salvation Army – had struck a planning committee to look into building another hospital – this time, in Scarborough’s northwest corner. After several starts-and-stops, The Salvation Army was given permission to build a 300-bed general hospital in the L’amoreaux area of Scarborough. In 1985, The Salvation Army Scarborough Grace Hospital was opened.

Both the Scarborough General and the Scarborough Grace were innovators in providing healthcare services to their respective residents. As financial pressures mounted in the hospital sector, the two hospitals voluntarily amalgamated in 1998 to form The Scarborough Hospital. The two campuses were known as the General and the Grace.

The Salvation Army ended its administrative role in 2008 to focus on providing culturally sensitive spiritual care. The Grace campus was renamed the Birchmount campus in 2009.

In addition to providing a range of community-based healthcare services, The Scarborough Hospital is a regional centre of excellence for dialysis (the largest of its kind in North America), family maternity services, vascular surgery, pacemakers, sexual assault care, and mental health and crisis programs.

In 2009, the General campus opened its $72 million Emergency and Critical Care in its new West Wing, more than doubling the size of the previous Emergency Department, and featuring new infection control and isolation protocols.

Future renovation and equipment upgrades – such as new surgical suites at the General campus and a new MRI at the Birchmount campus – are a testament to The Scarborough Hospital’s mission to provide an outstanding care experience that meets the unique needs of each patient, and to its vision to be recognized as Canada’s leader in providing the best healthcare for a global community.