As a councillor for Hamilton Mountain residents, I am here today to present to you, the members of the Hamilton Health Sciences Board of Directors, our submission to preserve the name of the Henderson (General) Hospital.

NORA FRANCES HENDERSON, CITIZEN

Nora Frances Henderson; journalist, politician, welfare activist; b. 9 March 1897, Bicester, England; d. 23 March 1949, Hamilton, Ontario.

Nora Frances Henderson moved with her family to Ontario from England in 1913 as a teenager eventually settling in Hamilton some years later. At an early age, this bright, energetic and creative woman discovered her two great talents, writing and speaking.

Initially gaining employment as a reporter for the Hamilton Herald, she was quickly assigned a daily women’s page of news and editorial comment and went on to become Women’s Editor demonstrating her wit and range of interests.

At 28, she began her public career and was an honest voice in the community on the plight of the poor and on the need for organizations like the Big Sisters Association.

She was particularly vocal on women’s issues, especially their role in public life, advocating that they take an active interest in affairs by siting on the board of the Hamilton General Hospital as well as run for the previously all-male Hamilton City Council. As a result, women were admitted to the hospital board.

In response to the troubling rate of women’s deaths in childbirth, Henderson wrote a morality play entitled The Pageant of Motherhood which was presented locally then published and distributed nationwide. Her work showed an early interest in family welfare issues. She believed in the forces of progress, specifically science and education, as a means to eradicate the misery and suffering resulting from ignorance and lack of information. She had an abiding confidence in humanity’s desire to better itself and the ability of people like herself to point the way to a better world.

In 1931, the Local Council of Women chose Henderson as a candidate for City Council. With that support, she became the first woman on Council, representing Ward 1. Her campaign committee, known as the Hamilton Women’s Civic Club, enabled Henderson to be re-elected for four consecutive terms as she continued to write columns for the Herald.

In 1935, Henderson became the first woman in Canada elected to a city Board of Control. Her duties included taking charge of a chaotic relief department responsible for the welfare of 8,000 families on public assistance. She sponsored a meeting within her first year which created the Charter of Municipal Rights beginning her campaign to have other levels of government contribute a greater share of relief for burdens borne predominately by municipalities. She chaired the Relief Board which acted as a court of appeal to decisions handed down by officials.

Her desire for large-scale economic reform of social welfare funding failed to lead her to represent the people federally, however, during the Second World War, Henderson sat on the Board of Health and was a strong advocate for the treatment of tuberculosis patients and for securing provincial funding for the Mountain Sanatorium. It was at this time that she began working with the Children’s Aid Society and in 1948 was elected to the executive of the Canadian Conference on Social Work.

As Hamilton’s first female Acting Mayor, Henderson took on both business and labour during the 1946 Stelco strike. At issue was the detaining within the plant of men who resisted union membership. Although in favour of labour and strike procedure, she felt that the men being detained were being denied the very democratic rights they had fought for during the war. The strikers eventually allowed access across the picket lines.

She devoted herself to civic affairs and social reform; dedicating her entire life to public service. Through her newspaper contributions, she championed causes and raised awareness. As a member of City Council for sixteen years, she was a forthright and energetic champion for the improvement of the lives of Hamiltonians.

In 1949, at the age of 52, Nora Frances Henderson died. She left no will and owned no property, however, her death was marked by an outpouring of public recognition. Dignitaries from all political parties attended her funeral. Her involvement in organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Hamilton Home for the Aged, Hamilton’s Women’s Press Club, the Canadian Women’s Press Club and the Hamilton Zonta Club were remembered. The Women’s Civic Club and the Children’s Aid Society established scholarships in her name and her portrait was hung at Hamilton City Hall. When a new hospital opened in Hamilton, it was named in her honour, the Nora Frances Henderson Convalescent Hospital; an honour which should not be diminished nor forgotten.

HENDERSON’S LEGACY

Granted, honouring the past while acknowledging the present is difficult, but in this case too much has been attributed to money rather than accomplishment, which is especially disconcerting when it involves public health care.

Although it is a gracious and exceedingly generous donation, the Board could have found other means of recognizing the Juravinskis gift. This decision, to recognize it by renaming the Henderson, will permanently erase part of this city’s heritage and we’ve lost so much of that here already.

Henderson was a trailblazer both locally and nationally.

After coming to Canada with her family from England, she began writing and found work as a reporter for the Hamilton Herald, eventually becoming the paper’s women’s editor.

She believed in equality for women and that they should get involved in the political process. Through her efforts, women were appointed for the first time to the local hospital board.

She went on to become the first woman elected to Hamilton City Council and three years later became the first woman in Canada to be elected to a city’s Board of Control. She served as alderman and controller for 16 years.

She was a fearless champion even when it came to unpopular positions, her opposition to the 1946 Stelco strike and her confrontations with strikers at the picket lines drew national attention.

She also had a desire to help the helpless, particularly children and eventually came to work full-time for the Children’s Aid Society upon leaving politics. She went on to be executive secretary of the Association of Children’s Aid Societies of Ontario.

An advocate for the rights of women and children as well as health care, Nora Frances Henderson died in 1949.

A few years after her death, Hamiltonians decided to honour her legacy by naming a rebuilt 322-bed hospital on the central Mountain the Nora Frances Henderson Convalescent Hospital. Originally a 100-bed hospital built to help care for Second World War veterans, the site on the escarpment was chosen as it provided an excellent view and fresh air. A year later, a nurses residence was added. Then in 1965, the adjacent hospitals were physically linked and in 1997, amalgamated to form the Hamilton Health Sciences. Today, the Henderson is a centre of excellence in orthopedics, oncology, rehabilitation and outpatient surgery.

Although she never saw the new hospital with her name on it, Henderson’s dedication has been kept alive by the community for more than six decades thanks to the building which bears her name. This will all be lost. Our children will never know the works of people like her if we go on changing names with a new donation. The “tribute” to Nora Frances Henderson within the facility will be overlooked no matter how prominent and eventually forgotten. We’ll be rewriting history.

Nearly a decade ago, the community rose up when Hamilton Health Sciences planned to basically close the Henderson and turn it into an urgent care centre. That opposition resulted in not only the reversal of the decision, but also forced the province to announce a multi-million dollar renewal at the site.

Hamilton Health Sciences has a long and distinguished health care history and is one of the largest teaching facilities in Ontario. As its Board of Directors, you are the stewards of the hospital campuses and health care delivery to the citizens of Hamilton. Why should you force this change when it was not suggested nor made a condition by the Juravinskis?

The Juravinskis are marvelous and great philanthropists, but so was Henderson. She dedicated her entire life to public service and made valuable and long-term contributions.

Although their most welcome donation is unprecedented in Hamilton, there are other ways of acknowledging this. Generations of families were born and died at the Henderson; people were healed and friendships were forged, but when they go so will the legacy of Nora Frances Henderson, a community trailblazer whose life’s work will be erased by the Board’s decision.

We cannot afford to discourage philanthropy, particularly as governments are stretched with the funding of various programs and services, however, we cannot afford to brush aside the giving of one’s time and talents to a cause especially at a time like our present economic downturn. Surely we can accommodate both and thus suitably honour and preserve the gifts made by Henderson and the Juravinskis.

We remain hopeful the Board will reconsider its decision.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Although the 2006 decision to rename the Henderson as the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre was made by the Hamilton Health Sciences Board to recognize the multi-million dollar donation made by the Juravinskis for the redevelopment of the facility, it was done so with no public input or consultation. People are too easily impressed by money, but how can you put a price on drive, dedication or talent?

As Councillor, I have been receiving a number of calls and letters opposing the idea as more and more Hamiltonians are just starting to become aware of the significant change that the Board is proposing. Hamilton Health Sciences will be seen as being insensitive to the wishes of the community by not reversing its decision despite a rally attended by tens of thousands; media coverage; a dedicated web site, and now this delegation’s presentation.

We respect the Juravinskis’ philanthropy, but the Henderson name is part of Hamilton and Mountain history and must be maintained. Plans to honour Henderson within the hospital will not continue to sufficiently recognize her life’s work.

Nora Frances Henderson devoted her entire life to public service. She was a forthright and energetic champion for the improvement of the lives of Hamiltonians. Her hard work and groundbreaking efforts are priceless. A great travesty will be committed if this goes ahead.

The Juravinskis gave a donation to St Joseph’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Villa without any mention of changing the names. The naming of a wing at the Henderson along with the Juravinski Cancer Centre would be more appropriate as thanks to their continuing financial support.

As legacies prove to be short-lived, our children will know nothing of our heritage. History becomes lost and thus irrelevant.

It was the City of Hamilton that chose to bestow this honour upon Nora Frances Henderson by naming this great hospital. Even after sixty years, how can we be so bold to accept the Board’s decision to change it? Hamilton taxpayers have a history with Henderson and her legacy to the City of Hamilton should live on.

You know of her life’s work and many firsts: first female controller; first female elected to City Council; first female Acting Mayor; a journalist and social activist, but more than this, she pushed for children’s rights, women’s rights and improved health care her entire life.

Would we choose to rename St Joseph’s or McMaster? The preponderance of churches, mosques or even pagan buildings in our culture are not named for an individual whose financial wealth contributed to the structure’s development. Rather, within the site a tribute clearly noted would be fashioned. As with universities and colleges, names are not changed because of a newer or more significant donation. There are always exceptions, however, let us be prudent in terms of setting precedence.

It is unfair to the Juravinskis to be put in this position and perhaps embarrassing. As renaming the site was not a condition, the Board could have found another way to honour their contribution.

There are many challenges to providing adequate health care and it is unfortunate that public service needs to be subsidized by private monies. However, can integrity be compromised particularly without accountability and transparency? We urge the Hamilton Health Sciences Board to engage constituents when contemplating such significant changes otherwise the lack of consultation could account for a perceived arrogance by residents.

Hamiltonians have suffered through many changes without consultation: the closure of Chedoke Emergency and Urgent Care facilities; change in status of McMaster as only a Children’s Hospital; emergency care closures across the city; separation of mother and newborn should complications arise; closure of Urgent Care facilities. Tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of taxpayers money has funded this hospital. Should these same individuals not have input into this decision?

As people realize the significance of the change proposed by Hamilton Health Sciences, more voices will demand to be heard. The Board can ill afford to be seen as being insensitive to the wishes of Hamiltonians and Henderson’s legacy cannot be allowed to be diminished.