On Friday, the Dauphin Regional Health Centre hosted an event to mark the hospital's 125th anniversary, marked by dignitaries and speeches about what exactly the hospital means for Dauphin and the Parkland.
To kick off the speeches, Dauphin MLA Ron Kostyshyn read part of a recent Member Statement he made in Legislature, recognizing the Dauphin Regional Health Centre's contributions to the community over the past number of years.
"This special anniversary celebrates not only infrastructure, but the dedicated healthcare professionals and staff, volunteers, and community members who care about how we shape our generation," said Kostyshyn.
Also in attendance to speak on the importance was Dauphin mayor David Bosiak, who was born at the Dauphin Hospital. On a more professional note, the fact Dauphin has a facility with such a broad scope of care is one of the biggest selling points of the city.
"It's just so important to have a facility like this in our community. People need to travel for healthcare. As our aging population requires more and more care, so much of that care isn't in their local community. For us to have a facility like this here, it's care from birth to the end of life," said Bosiak.
Even over the past 25 years since the hospital's 100th anniversary, there have been numerous improvements that have helped to expand the scope of their care even further. Local historian Al Gray said over the years, the hospital has made some big steps to improve their quality of care.
"Just with the expansion of the facility comes the expansion of services, and because Dauphin is principally a regional health centre, I think we need the diagnositcs, we need the MRI, we need the CAT scan, we've already got a little bit of cancer care here, a new endoscopy unit," said Gray.
One of the Dauphin Hospital's biggest claims to fame is their Rural Residency program. Going on next Monday to Friday is Rural Week, a program that sees medical students in Winnipeg get shipped off to Dauphin, so they get real-world medical experience in rural communities. Physician Dr. Scott Kish said the hospital's big programs, Rural Week and their Residency Program, continue to help more communities get practiced healthcare professionals.
"They've had a great experience seeing a variety of things in the hospital, in terms of the ER, and clinic, and operating room...when our residents graduate from here, they're able to work in any environment in Canada," said Dr. Kish.
Looking at the past 125 years of healthcare in Dauphin, it's safe to say there have been a lot of changes over the years, but the Dauphin Hospital has always been a cornerstone of the community. Gray said keeping Dauphin's history in mind is something that should be important to every Dauphinite, considering just how rich our history is.
"There's a lot of history in this community. We need to learn from it, we need to preserve it. It's always great to look back and see where we've come from. And if it wasn't for the coming of the railroad and the settlers in here in 1896, Dauphin wouldn't exist, we wouldn't have needed the hospital," said Gray.
Looking ahead, it's impossible to say how healthcare in the Parkland will look in the next 125 years. But it's almost a certainty the the Dauphin Regional Health Centre will still be the centre of it.
