The historic Ann Baillie Building is a beautiful 1904 Beaux-Arts style limestone structure and National Historic Site of Canada commemorating the history of nursing education in Canada.
Originally a dormitory, the Ann Baillie Building was designed by Kingston architect William Newlands to house 26 nursing students at the Kingston General Hospital's School of Nursing; its construction was supported by fundraising efforts by the Nurses Alumnae Association. While the first nursing students at Kingston General enrolled in 1886 and graduated in 1888 (the programme being lengthened to three years in 1905), originally nursing student accommodations were located within the hospital itself as quarters both overcrowded and at risk of contamination with infectious disease.
The School of Nursing closed in 1974, after the Ontario provincial government transferred the training of nurses to colleges and universities. As Queen's University constructed its own residence for nursing students, Waldron Tower, the original dormitory was vacated. The building was historically designated by the City of Kingston under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1994 and recognised to be of national historic significance by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board in 1997.
"One of the earliest nurses' residences in Canada, this stately building symbolizes the development and recognition of nursing as a profession. The home was completed in 1904 for students at the Kingston General Hospital nursing school, who cared for patients in the wards and operating rooms as part of their training. The building was later named in honour of Ann Baillie, a graduate of the school and its superintendent from 1924 to 1942. Here as elsewhere, a place of their own helped nurses shape a professional role indispensable to health care within the hospital and the community." —1999 historic plaque, Historic Sites and Monuments BoardThe building currently houses the Coalition of Canadian Healthcare Museums and Archives as well as the Museum of Health Care.
Read more about this topic: Museum Of Health Care
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