Editor:
History has a tendency of repeating itself, whether it be good or bad. This pandemic is one of them.
In 1918, the deadly Spanish Influenza pandemic struck Canada. At the time Delta had less than 3,000 people. There was but one doctor for the whole community, Dr. A.A. (Alfred) King, and no registered nurses.
There were no trained registered nurses available in B.C. so Dr. King persuaded St. Paul’s Hospital Training School to provide him with one of the top nurses still in training. Her name was Winnifred (Winnie) Francis. She was 20 years old.
There was no hospital or medical clinic, but under Dr. King’s leadership they commandeered what was known as McNeely Boarding House, the former McNeely Store (built 1898) on Chisholm Street.
Mrs. John McKee, then regent of the International Order Daughters Empire (I.O.D.E.), requested members of the organization and the community at large help when and where they could. They began by knocking down walls in the rooming house to make more room.
Mr. E.L. Berry, the town barber, had wooden beds and tables made. Simeon Whidden Fisher, the owner of Fisher’s Drug Store, donated his time and whatever medicines he could provide.
Mrs. Lilly McKee took care of the linens and accessories.
In addition to registered nurse Winnie Francis, there were practical nurses Miss Lawrence, Mrs. Adams, Mrs. McEachron, Mrs. Frank Smith along with orderlies Mrs. W. Fisher, Mrs. Macklin and Jim Jarvis, to name a few. They had as many as 25 patients at any given time.
Between October of 1918 and March of 1919, there were 14 deaths, from infants to the elderly.
One of the nurses, Mrs. Frank Smith, contracted the flu while serving patients and died.
As a result Winnie Fisher (nee Francis) and several other nurses involved in the pandemic decided they should not be caught off guard if another epidemic or disaster was to occur. They established the Ladner United Church could be made into a hospital ward in 20 minutes if needed.
There was no such thing as an intensive care unit (ICU) in Delta at that time, nor is there one in Delta now. There was an ICU at Delta Hospital, then the government took it away. One hundred years later can there be any doubt that we need an ICU at Delta Hospital now?
Let us not have all the work that our pioneers, who put their lives on the front lines, be in vain.
Douglas George Massey
