Montreal General Hospital

Montreal General Hospital
*Hôpital général de Montréal*
Montreal General Hospital; Hôpital général de Montréal
McGill University Health Centre
	As seen from Pine Avenue
	Location in Montreal
Geography
Location	1650, avenue Cedar; Montreal,Quebec; H3G 1A4
Coordinates	45°29′50″N73°35′19″W/ 45.4973°N 73.5885°W
Organisation
Care system	RAMQ(Quebec medicare)
Type	Teaching
Affiliated university	McGill University Faculty of Medicine
Network	McGill University Health Centre
Services
Emergency department	Level I Trauma Center
Beds	479
Speciality	General medicine,Surgery,Trauma,Orthopedics,Psychiatry,Thoracic Surgery
Public transit access	Guy-Concordia
History
Opened	1820
Links
Website	https://muhc.ca/mgh

TheMontreal General Hospital(MGH) (French:Hôpital général de Montréal) is a hospital inMontreal,Quebec,Canada established in the years 1818–1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of theMcGill University Health Centre(MUHC) and is located onMount Royal,at the intersection of Pine Avenue (Avenue des Pins) andCôte-des-Neiges Road.It has six pavilions: A, B, C, D, E and Livingston (L); plus a research centre in a separate building next to the L pavilion.

The first MGH was built at the corner of Craig Street (today St. Antoine) and St. Lawrence Boulevard and only had 24 beds. Having outgrown this space, it moved to a new 72-bed building on Dorchester Boulevard (now René-Lévesque) between St. Dominique and De Bullion Streets; today this facility is a long-term care centre. In 1924, the hospital merged with the Western General Hospital (currently the D & E wings of the formerMontreal Children's Hospital) building at the corner of Tupper Street and Atwater Avenue. The current location was opened on October 4, 1955, byMary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.

The MGH has been designated by the Quebec government as one of threeLevel I trauma centresin the province, the others being theHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de MontréalandHôpital de l'Enfant-JésusinQuebec City.^[1]

The MGH has been affiliated with McGill since 1832 and was one of the first teaching hospitals.

In 2019,Newsweekranked the hospital 6th in Canada and 2nd in Quebec.^[2]

History

Fund-raising to establish an English hospital in Montreal was undertaken in the years 1818-1820 after an initial petition for a new public hospital was accidentally denied by the lowest level of the colonial government ofLower Canadaat the time, theHouse of Assembly.^[3]The growing needs of the English-speaking population led to several charities, among them the Female Benevolent Society of Montreal and the Society for the Relief of Immigrants, to ask for help in building a new hospital. At this time, Montreal had two hospitals: theGrey Nuns' Hopital Generaland theHôtel-Dieu de Montréal).

In 1819 enough money had been received to lease a building on Craig Street to accommodate 24 patients and this small hospital opened on May 1, 1819. By 1820 enough money had been subscribed to purchase property on Dorchester and St Dominique streets. The cornerstone of the new Montreal General Hospital was laid in 1821 and the 72-bed hospital building opened in 1822. The hospital received its first charter in 1823.

Famous Montreal beer-brewerJohn Molsonof "Molson's beer" (founded in 1786 and still sold to this day under the name "Molson Canadian Lager" ) and his three sonsJohn Jr.,Thomas,andWilliamcontributed to the hospital financially through the purchasing of the Dorchester Street lot, the construction of the main building itself, and physically - with John Molson being the presenter of the initial petition to theLegislative Assembly of Lower Canada(after being sick and seeking hospital care himself, becoming personally invested) to create a new public hospital in Montreal in 1820, however the petition would be denied only because of a procedural error. Therefore the Montreal General would become a privately-funded institution.^[4]

At the same time four Edinburgh-trained physiciansAndrew Fernando Holmes,William Robertson, William Caldwell and John Stephenson were working to establish medical teaching in Montreal. They founded the Montreal Medical Institution in 1823 as a teaching unit of the hospital. In 1829 the Institution became part ofMcGill University,then known as McGill College. It was McGill's first faculty and Canada's first faculty of medicine.

On May 30, 1955, the Montreal General Hospital moved to its present location nearMount Royalon Cedar Avenue, at the corner ofCôte-des-Neiges Roadand one block north ofPine Avenue.

Notable physicians

Carl Goresky,his theoretical treatment of the transport of substances through intact organs led the basis for the understanding of events within themicrovasculature
Phil Gold,a physician and scientist. In 1968, he co-discovered withSamuel O. Freedmanthecarcinoembryonic antigen(CEA), which resulted in a blood test used in the diagnosis and management of people with cancer.
Albert Moll,apsychiatristwho pioneered theday treatmentof psychiatric patients.
David Mulder, a physician and surgeon committed to the field of trauma and known as the primary physician for theMontreal Canadiens
Ouida Ramón-Moliner,a anaesthetist who assistedWilder Penfieldperformawake crainotomiesby keeping patients awake to locate where exactly there were suffering from epilepsy.^[5]