Pemberton Memorial Operating Room Background The Royal Jubilee Hospital opened in May of 1890. The original hospital had 3 wards, one for male surgical cases, one for medical cases, and one for female patients. The design also included an administrative block with the necessary apartments for a resident medical officer, matron, laboratory, accident ward, committee room, kitchen, storerooms and 2 additional buildings for infectious diseases. For it s time the Royal Jubilee Hospital was very advanced and quite well-off despite being in debt $15,000 following the initial construction. The hospital was however, lacking many important attributes including a maternity ward, a school of nursing, an operating theater, and a pediatric ward. When Victoria was hit with a small pox epidemic in 1893, the Royal Jubilee Hospital stepped up and assumed its first responsibility as the city s hospital, giving their utmost effort to rid the city of the disease. The hospital proved itself to be a superior facility, however the cost of erecting more isolation cottages and the loss of income from paying patients during the epidemic put the hospital into even greater debt. Luckily, as a show of appreciation for their dedication and hard work, the City of Victoria passed a $35,000 bylaw for the Jubilee and the mortgage on the property was paid. Suddenly, expansion on the hospital seemed a much more realistic possibility. A Generous Gift At the January 9, 1894 Jubilee Board meeting, Mr. F. B. Pemberton informed the committee that his father, J.D. Pemberton, late Surveyor General of BC, had left a $2,000 legacy to the Provincial Royal Jubilee Hospital. His hopes were that...the board would in some way commemorate his name with the institution. One of the doctors, Dr. J. S. Helmcken was quick to propose the money be used to develop a maternity unit. Another member suggested the bequest be used to pay back debts, and the female ward be re-named to honor Mr. Pemberton. Upon legal investigation, it was concluded that the will necessitated development of real property and could not be used to repay debts. During this time, the board received a personal gift Mrs. Pemberton & the Honorable J. D. Pemberton from Mrs. Teresa Jane Pemberton of $1,500 to add to her late husband s legacy for a maternity ward.
Page 2 Pemberton Memorial Operating Room Changing Medicine Almost immediately, plans for the new maternity unit were being drawn up, but it didn't take long for the committee to realize that the $3,500 available was simply not enough to construct a new maternity unit. Furthermore, it seemed the current medical staff were not in favor of using the money towards such a cause, but rather, they stressed the need for improved surgical facilities in the hospital. Surgery in 19th century had always been very dangerous and was usually limited to the most desperate cases; however the advances in medicine taking place at this time helped to justify the medical staff s request. Even after the development of general anesthetics in the mid-century, the mortality rate was still at 50%. It wasn t until French chemist and bacteriologist Louis Pasteur recognized that air borne organisms could lead to food spoilage that hygienic medical practices began to emerge. Lord Joseph Lister took Pasteur s bacterial concept one step further with Lord Joseph Lister. 1827 1912. the introduction of the principles of antisepsis to medicine, changing surgery forever. Lister realized that cleanliness was imperative to successful surgery, and by using antiseptics and a complex method of removing germs from the surgical environment he was able to reduce mortality rates to fewer than 10%. The board considers it expedient and necessary in order that the efficiency of the hospital may be extended that an The Chief Medical Officer at the Royal Jubilee at the time, Dr. John Chapman Davie Jr., had had previous training under Dr. Lister while on sabbatical in Europe. Thus, when Listerian methods were becoming more common across Europe, Dr. Davie led the movement for bringing modern surgery to Victoria, and pushed for Mr. Pemberton s bequest to be used towards the establishment of adequate operating facilities. Finally, on October 7, 1895, after much disagreement and discussion the board finally came to agreement on building a new operating theatre. operating room be erected, not to cost more than $3,5000 when completed. October 1895. The floor plan of the Royal Jubilee Hospital c1899. The Pemberton Operating Room was nearly freestanding, and connected to the main building by a 50 foot corridor.
The Plans With everyone finally agreeing on how Mr. J. D. Pemberton s legacy should be used, a committee was appointed to begin designing the theater. Three board members, Mr. Byrnes, T. Shotbolt and W. Dwyer, were assigned to work together with a well known Victoria architect, and the mayor at the time, John Teague. There was some discrepancy surrounding the final design proposed by Mr. Teague, however after Mrs. Pemberton and the board had approved the layout, 2 years after the donation was originally received, the Pemberton Memorial Operating Room project was finally initiated. The project took off early in 1896, and at a special board meeting on March 20, John Teague s Plan 3 was selected as the winning design. It called for a octagonal building, 24 feet in diameter, located 50 feet away from the current buildings as to allow for perfect ventilation and increased natural light. Adjacent to the OR itself would be a 24 x 12-foot sterilization room. The entire structure was to be built to accommodate Lister s antisepsis techniques. Plastered and painted walls, a mosaic tile floor, large windows and heat pipes were all designed to be easily cleaned and disinfected after each surgery. Tenders for the design were received, and when the contract was awarded to Mr. Thomas Catterall for $3,614, Mrs. Pemberton kindly contributed the additional $114 for the Operating Room. Laying the Cornerstone The cornerstone of the Pemberton memorial operating room was laid by Mrs. Pemberton on May 15, 1896. In a special ceremony commemorating both her and her late husband s generosity, Mrs. Pemberton was presented with a commemorative trowel from Mr. Joshua Davies, president of the hospital. The trowel was beautiful in design and historical in it s construction. It [was] made from metal exclusively obtained in British Columbia, won from the three largest and best known mines in the Kootenays, and smelted by the only three smelters working in the province. The handle [was] made from a piece of oak timber taken from the steamer Beaver, the first steamer to turn a paddle on the Pacific Ocean. Under the cornerstone, a time capsule was laid containing the following items: hospital reports for 1894-95, copies of the daily and weekly Colonist and Province, the Queen s birthday celebration programs, copies of letters and proceedings relating to the Pemberton Memorial, the president s address and Mrs. Pemberton s reply, the president s photograph, and 50, 25, 10 and 5-cent pieces. The cornerstone was lowered, and was declared well and truly laid by Mrs. Pemberton. Mrs. Pemberton then made a speech, followed by the mayor, and the ceremony ended with tea served From the Victoria Daily Colonist Saturday May 16, 1896 at the hospital. The location of both the cornerstone and the time capsule are unknown to this day. Page 3
Page 4 Pemberton Memorial Operating Room Finally, the construction of the operating room was underway. Everything was going smoothly, until in July, the board of directors were informed that the operating room was nearing completion, but an additional $500 was needed to equip the room. The appeal was met by generous donations from both the Women s Auxiliary and from Mrs. Pemberton herself. A new nurse was hired for the operating room, and very soon after the first operation took place. Lord Lister Visits In 1897, Lord Lister, the father of modern surgery himself paid a visit to Victoria. Lister arrived in Victoria on the evening of September 13th, along with his brother, Mr. Arthur Lister, and his two daughters. Two distinguished members of the local medical community, Dr. Davie and Dr. John Duncan, were appointed to entertain Dr. Lister during his visit. During his time in Victoria, Lord Lister was shown Cadboro Bay and dined at the Mount Baker Hotel. Following lunch, the party proceeded to the Royal Jubilee Hospital, where hospital president Alexander Wilson and members of the hospital board received them and toured them through the various wards. Lister The Operating Room in 1896, without electricity gave his utmost approval and seemed favourably impressed by the new operating room, which had been built to his Listerian standards. The only suggestion he offered was that a post-anesthetic recovery room be added to the structure. The following year, two post-operative recovery rooms, the first in Canada, were constructed upon this advice for $1,000. The fact that the operating room and the hospital in general was so well received, highlighted how advanced and well equipped the Royal Jubilee was becoming. Through the Years The Pemberton OR gave the Royal Jubilee the title of the leading surgical hospital in BC and much of the Pacific Northwest from 1896 until 1905. The top-notch surgical facilities served a secondary purpose of attracting quality medical and surgical staff to Victoria. Dr. O.M. Jones was trained and practiced at London Hospital as house surgeon, house physician and accoucheur (obstetrician), before joining the Royal Jubilee staff as a surgeon in 1893. Dr. Jones, along with the other talented medical staff performed a broad range of major surgeries throughout the subsequent years. In 1900, a total of 280 operations were performed, and during World War 1, many wounded veterans were treated and operated on in the Pemberton Memorial Operating Room. Operating Room with original electric light 1897 In 1897, electricity was installed throughout the entire hospital, including in the Pemberton Operating Room. Until then, surgeries had been performed using natural light from the 6 windows, and by use of kerosene lamplight.
Page 5 One of a Kind The Pemberton OR is of historical significance both nationally and internationally. It accurately reflects the transition towards a more structured and scientific technique for surgeries that took place at the beginning of the 20th century. Hospitals had previously been viewed as a refuge for poor people who could not afford surgery in the home. The introduction of Antiseptic Surgery changed the role of the hospital to be acceptable for both the rich and the poor. It was the New Light Box and Lights 1900 Surgery in 1902 first surgical facility to be built north of San Francisco, and west of Manitoba. Within Canada, it was the first free standing operating theatre which offered no added space for observers. Essentially, the Pemberton OR established the Royal Jubilee as the pre-eminent surgical hospital in the province, and promoted state-of-the-art medical practices at the RJH. Intern T. Miller 1910 (left) and East Block 1925 Home to the new Operating Room Suite (below) The operating room was used daily for nearly 30 years, housing countless surgeries for the people of Vancouver Island. When the East Wing of the hospital was built in 1925, 6 new operating rooms were built to meet the demanding needs of the growing city. Following the new addition, the Pemberton OR became home to, in turn, the radiology department, the cancer agency, and the medical records department.
Page 6 Pemberton Memorial Operating Room Heritage Building Over the subsequent years many additions were made to the Royal Jubilee Hospital campus, and in 1990, the last of the original buildings were demolished. There was one exception, the Pemberton Memorial Operating Room remained in tact and in great shape in its original location on site. In 1981 when construction plans threatened the demolition of the Pemberton OR, the To designate the Victoria Medical Society, a nonprofit organization responsible building known as Pemberton Memorial for the restoration and preservation of medical artifacts in BC, Operating Room and its requested heritage status for the ante Room as a building with bylaw No. 173. The bylaw passed the committee stage with much support and went to the Victoria City Council on March 11, 1982. At this meeting, the municipal heritage site president of the Royal Jubilee Hospital at the time, Dr. Michael Butcher, claimed that - City of Victoria Bylaw awarding the Pemberton OR heritage status would significantly hinder the construction of much needed hospital beds. Furthermore, he calculated that the cost of relocat- No. 173 ing the Operating room and the Chapel would be at least $100,000. It seemed as though the building was destined for demolition and that all hope of restoration was lost. However, in 1983 a lucky break came for the Pemberton Memorial Operating Room. Government restraint programs that were introduced in 1983 postponed any construction activity on the hospital, buying the Pemberton OR some valuable time. For 6 years the Pemberton Memorial Operating Room lay intact and empty on the RJH grounds while discussions of restoration continued to circulate. No significant advances were made until 1989, when a well know restoration consultant, Martin Weaver, toured the buildings. His photographs and analyses showed very little had changed in the condition of the OR since it was actively used, giving new hope to the prospect of restoration. The original mosaic floor is still preserved under vinyl tile that has been used to cover it. In 1995, after an extremely lengthy process, the OR was finally granted heritage designation from the Victoria City Council, as more and more historians were recognizing the significance of the building. Further, in 2006 it was named a National Historic Site of Canada by the Honourable Rona Ambrose Minister for Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
The Operating Room Today Page 7 The Victoria Medical Heritage Society was formed in 2004, as a charitable branch of the Victoria Medical Society. Their main goal is to raise funds in order to support a full restoration of the Pemberton OR as well as to create a medical history museum. The plan involves restoring the building to its original state and constructing an addition to serve as a public medical museum. There has been much support within the medical community for this project, however the VMHS is still seeking further funding in order to proceed with the plans. The Pemberton OR currently resides in it s original location on the RJH site, beside the Pemberton Chapel a gift from Mrs. Pemberton in 1909. Much work has been done by the RJH Nursing Alumnae in order to restore the Chapel and it is currently open as a multi-faith sanctuary for the public 24 hours a day. The lower level of the chapel serves as an archive to house the Royal Jubilee Hospital Nursing Archives Museum (1891 to 1982), and is a permanent memorial for the RJH School of Nursing Alumnae. On July 24, 2007 the Pemberton Chapel Garden was officially opened. The garden includes a courtyard connecting the two heritage buildings - easily accessible for all with paved pathways - and acts as a retreat for staff, patients, and visitors. Into the Future The design of the new Patient Care Centre at the RJH has worked around the Pemberton heritage buildings on the site, to ensure they are properly conserved. The design aims to incorporate the OR and the Chapel into the public garden space of the PCC, as well as to perform exterior restorations to the buildings in order to preserve the legacy of the Royal Jubilee Hospital. Construction of the new PCC considers and incorporates the heritage buildings on site Fundraising for the OR restoration project is on-going