The History of St. Joseph’s Hospice

It started out as a discussion among concerned individuals who, through their own experiences identified a gap of care or support in their community. Two women, living in London, Ontario, recognized a critical need for community-based palliative care for terminally ill individuals and their families. Their recognition of need turned into the dream of offering innovative programming focusing on the unique needs of each person. Their dream was Hospice.

Jackie Mackenzie, an asssistant nursing supervisor with a community agency, first heard of hospice palliative care when a family member was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The family member was referred to Hospice of Windsor, where they received specialized care that focused on enhancing quality of life for the time they had remaining. What impressed Jackie was the involvement of the family as an integral part of the care team.

Jackie’s experience with hospice care helped her to realize the importance of talking about death with her family and living each day to its fullest. Her new found passion for hospice palliative care motivated her to search out organizations in London that provided the same kind of care her family member received in Windsor. She was astonished to discover that no community based hospice existed.

Realizing the benefits that a hospice would bring to London, she, along with a former colleague, AJ McKechnie, took up the torch and in 1983 began the long process of establishing Hospice. AJ had been highly involved in volunteer and donor recruitment at a community agency and was able to bring together a number of interested members of the business and health care communities to act as the founding Board of Directors.

It did not take long until both women, confident in their resolve, decided to learn all they could about hospice palliative care. They soon realized that they would need community support, volunteers and partners to make their dream come true.

Their passionate commitment and drive to bring their dream to life took hold in 1983, when both women were granted free office space to operate their community hospice. Two offices in the nursing quarters across from Victoria Hospital on South Street was the very first location for thr newly formed Hospice of London.

“We were successful in recruiting volunteers to serve on the newly formed Board of Directors and to provide in-home care to palliative individuals. We both had high expectations with the ultimate goal of building a free standing residence where people could live out their final days.”

Both women quickly realized the importance of having their dream seen as a legitimate partner in health care provision, so they incorporated Hospice of London as a registered charitable organization in 1985. Fifteen people took the specialized volunteer visitation training offered by the newly incorporated Hospice of London and began providing direct client care soon afterwards.

“We had limited resources. We were creative and formed partnerships with organizations that believed in our cause. Our first training session was held in the Dundas United Church. They offered the basement free of charge for our volunteer training sessions. The first group wascomposed of approximately 15 volunteers. We brought in homemade snacks and paid for any expenses out of our own pockets.”

Over time, demand for this specialized in-home palliative care service increased. More volunteers were needed to provide relaxation, peer support, and specialized therapies for clients and families. Hospice was growing and new sources of revenue and volunteers were needed to meet the rising demand for service. Jackie and the Hospice Board turned to the community for support. Service clubs, community groups and local businesses answered by opening their hearts and wallets.

“We did a lot of public speaking to foundations and potential corporate partners. At first people felt uncomfortable discussing the topic of palliative care. It took a lot of hard work and educational discussions, but the cheques started to role in.”

Even with successful fundraising initiatives, sustaining funds were needed, so Hospice of London applied to become a United Way Agency and received its first venture grant in 1986 and full membership in 1989.

Jackie held the post of Executive Director until 1997. During her tenure, Hospice of London developed from a concept of care in the early 1980s, to a leader in providing community based palliative support programs to people living in London.

837 Talbot Street

837 Talbot St. was purchased by Hospice in 2003. The property was renovated and new additions, like the elevator shaft, therapeutic gardens and Memory walkway were constructed. Many of the original unique nuances made the house comfortable for all our clients.

Our former Hospice Home had a rich history and unique architectural features, combining the elegance of the past with the beauty and convenience of the present. The ownership of the property dates back to 1836, when Joseph B. Askin bought the two-acre riverside parcel of land. In 1855 the Middlesex Agriculture Society bought the property and the site became London’s original Fair Grounds, with an elaborate exhibition hall, known as Simcoe Castle.

Around the time of Confederation, the Agriculture Society abandoned the property and Simcoe Castle fell into disrepair. In 1912 Edward Reid of the London Life Insurance Company purchased the property and began revitalization. He tore down the remains of Simcoe Castle and preserved 220,000 of the old bricks to use in the construction of the new building.

This two and one-half story, four-bedroom home, with its heavy end chimneys and four Dutch dormers, is described as Classical or Georgian Revival. It was by far the largest home of what was then known as Great Talbot Street and became known as the Great Talbot Street Estate.

Three generations of the Reid Family grew up in the house until it was sold to the London Life Company in the early 1970s. Mr. James Cross, a senior London Life Executive, moved into the home and purchased it from the company in 1983. It was during this time that the house went through another reconstruction phase.

For more than a decade, the house was a ‘home away from home’ for our palliative and bereaved clients.

485 Windermere Road

On April 1, 2012, St. Joseph’s Health Care Society and Hospice of London entered into a partnership to develop a new 10-bed residential hospice. This new entity, St. Joseph’s-Hospice of London, has a history of two organizations joining forces with a focus on the future of delivering quality end-of-life care in the London and Middlesex community.

For over 25 years, Hospice of London provided palliative, caregiver, and bereavement support to hundreds of clients and families in the City of London. The Society has the experience of developing a 10-bed hospice in Sarnia which opened in the Fall of 2009. Keeping that in mind, these two organizations are a perfect fit.

Effective May 15, 2013, St. Joseph’s Hospice and the Sisters of St. Joseph entered into a lease agreement at the Sisters Residence on 485 Windermere Road in North London. St. Joseph’s Hospice relocated its offices, programs and services to our new home on Windermere Road in December 2013. The new Residential Hospice opened on January 13, 2014. The first resident was received on February 20, 2014.

In many ways, the history of care provided to our community by the Sisters of St. Joseph is coming full circle to address unmet healthcare services in London and Middlesex. This link cements our future with our past and secures our confidence and commitment.

What makes this new relationship so unique?

St. Joseph’s Hospice moved to this green building which was designed with gold LEED® standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The Hospice is utilizing space in a functional building that already exists. This is a responsible alternative to our original plans to build on a green field site.

The mission of St. Joseph’s Hospice and the Sisters of St. Joseph are synonymous. The Sisters see the whole world as their neighbourhood, and they strive daily to become the change they seek in the world. They were the pioneers of healthcare in our area beginning in the 1800s and have always given particular attention to the "dear neighbour." Likewise, St. Joseph’s Hospice tends to the dying, the bereaved, and their families at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives, regardless of age, ethnicity or belief – our “dear neighbours.”

While palliative services are offered in each of the acute care hospitals in our city, hospice care is a unique philosophy of care that provides a range of supportive services that focus on the care of the whole person (body, mind, spirit) and extends this support to loved ones. In collaboration with physicians and other care providers, care is provided in a home-like environment where adults and children with life-threatening illnesses receive compassionate end-of-life care services. In addition to emotional support, pain management, and complementary therapies, our philosophy is to ensure life is lived, right to the end.

History of the Sisters of St. Joseph

They came together more than 350 years ago, a dedicated, compassionate band of sisters who gathered in LePuy, France at the calling of a French Jesuit, Jean-Pierre Medaille. Their mission was to heal the wounded, care for the sick, minister to the poor, the elderly, the orphans and the imprisoned, and to instill spirituality in young girls. And so they did, growing in numbers, reaching out across countries and continents, creating a foundation of caring and teaching so solid it has endured and continues today.

Fortunately for London and the region, the rich history of the Sisters of St. Joseph is entrenched here too, having shaped education, health care and social services for more than 130 years. These pious pioneers also set an impressive example for women as administrators, directors and innovators long before the rearing of the feminist movement.

And so we honour their beginnings, their wondrous contributions, and their ongoing devotion to the people of London, Southwestern Ontario, and well beyond.

The journey from their beginnings in Lepuy, France, to North America saw the Sisters of St. Joseph through the torturous times of the French Revolution. With the fall of Robespierre, one group of these Sisters who survived - five were guillotined, others were imprisoned - were reorganized in Lyons, France, in 1807 by Mother St. John Fontbonne.

From there, the Sisters of St. Joseph were sent to St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and then to Philadelphia in 1847 to establish convents. From the United States, they came to Canada, the first sisters arriving in 1851 to establish a community in Toronto.

On December 11, 1868, five Sisters from Toronto stepped off the train in London accompanied by their Superior General, Mother Antoinette. They came at the invitation of Bishop Walsh, second Bishop of London, to establish a branch house of the Toronto headquarters. Bishop Walsh had plans for the educational needs of the children of his diocese and the care of the orphans and the aged.

The Sisters of St. Joseph began their journey of healing in Southwestern Ontario.

For a more complete history please visit: https://csjarchive.org/about-us/history-of-the-congregation/

To learn more about the history of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, please visit the consolidated archives website: https://csjarchive.org/

On this website, you will find publications that you can download, as well as a historical timeline, photographs, audio and video recordings, and digital exhibits. Check back often as more new treasures will be added over time.