St. Boniface Sanatorium
| St. Boniface Sanatorium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Opened | 1931 |
| Closed | 1962 (as a TB hospital) |
| Current Status | Active |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | St. Vital, MB |
| Alternate Names |
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History
The St. Boniface Sanatorium officially opened in September 1931 on a 60 acre-plot of land in St. Vital, Manitoba, across the river from St. Boniface. After negotiations between Dr. Stewart, the superintendent of the Ninette Sanatorium, and the Grey Nuns, plans for the St. Boniface Sanatorium were forged. The first patient to be admitted in 1931 was an 8-year-old First Nations boy named Stanley Donald.
The sanatorium consisted of a four-story main building which housed most of the patients, and contained an operating room, a laboratory, kitchens, a pharmacy, and a chapel. A power building stood beside the main building which had a large chimney and held the laundry and living quarters for the male staff. On the opposite side of the main building stood the preventorium (also known as the Annex). This building was originally two stories and held the children’s quarters. A garage, a greenhouse, and a workshop also stood on the hospital grounds. In 1937 the need to address the high rates of tuberculosis amongst the Indigenous population of Manitoba became urgent.
The St. Boniface Sanatorium engaged in discussions about building a separate building on the site to house these patients; however, instead, a third floor was added onto the preventorium building to form a new ward. In June 1938 the hospital began admitting First Nations patients into this new ward, with a maximum of 35 patients recorded each year between 1938 and 1941. As a large institution, the hospital had the staff, space, and resources to undertake a wide range of surgical procedures. The most common procedure performed was the artificial pneumothorax, followed by thoracoplasties. Both were designed to collapse and “rest” the lung, by forcing air into the chest cavity or by removing ribs.
By 1959 antibiotic drug therapies for TB reduced the need for hospital beds, and the hospital began accepting children with disabilities who required care. The hospital’s mandate shifted, and in 1962 the remaining TB patients were transferred to the Ninette Sanatorium. The organization was re-named St. Amant Centre in 1974 as the space became dedicated to meeting the needs of persons with developmental disabilities.
