Nurses at Essondale

August 19, 1930, taken by Dominion Photo Co. The kitchen block under construction.

Dominion Photo Co. took this photo of an unidentified group at Essondale Hospital in 1931.

Stride Studio is responsible for this February 13, 1929 photo taken at Essondale.

January 20, 1930 photo of the Farm Cottage taken by Stride Studios.

This collection photos from the City of Vancouver Archives

The training of nurses at Essondale hit its peak in the 1950s. In 1953, the Nursing School had its largest graduating class of 200 nurses. The training was rigorous, combining experience on the wards with classroom studies. Female students stayed in the residences, under the watchful eye of House Mothers. The male students were on an honour system and allowed more freedom. They were also paid more than female students were.

The Nursing Program in the 1950s was a three-year course with 300 lecture hours that included teachings ranging from first aid and fire precautions to pharmacology and psychology. The students gained practical experience by rotations in the wards at Essondale and Woodlands schools.

In 1957, the Nurses' Home and School of Psychiatric Nursing Building was completed. Female students now had single rooms, for the first time. Male students were housed at West Lawn on the top floor.

If male students wanted to visit the female students, they would wait at the front door of the Nurses' home when they came calling. Sometimes, the men would be invited to a sock dance in the reception area. Some of the better experienced dancers managed to stay upright while dancing in their socks on the slippery, hardwood floors.

The staff at Essondale also experimented with different therapies for their patients since they didn't always have the guidance of established methods. Some of those experiments had dramatic results - like the lead up to a Music Therapy program.

“One day I was invited to the ward at West Lawn where there were a number of patients in a catatonic state—they were frozen in one position. They would eat three times a day, but they were terribly inactive. They weren’t walking in the airing courts; their cardiovascular condition was terrible. I was asked if I could get these men moving. I thought of the Pennington Hall dances and how patients would react to music. They would tap their toes, move their hands or even get up and dance. So I brought a turntable into this ward and put on marching music. A complete metamorphosis took place before my eyes. The patients started moving and jogging around the room. I thought all this activity was going to put a few of them into cardiac arrest! As soon as the music stopped, they froze again. But we could see it had an impact. This experiment led to a music therapist being hired.” 

Don Cunnings Recreation Therapist, 1953-57

There were also sports days held at Essondale. The annual event was an important day. Patients, staff and family members would participate in the usual such as the three-legged race, the sack race and the softball toss. There were also unique events such as the doctor’s bandaging race. The patients and doctors would usually compete in a softball game, bands would play, a picnic would be held on the lawn. A big outdoor dance would complete the day.

Thanks to the PDF, Riverview, A Legacy of Care and Compassion for the information above.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill

Oh! How Shocking!

Construction of the Female Chronic Building. June 28, 1929. Dominion Photo Co. Courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives

Construction of the powerhouse at Essondale. March 6, 1925

The Nurse's Home at Essondale. Stride Studios, New Westminster. Apr. 23, 1929

Colony Farm, Essondale. 1914 taken by W.J. Moore Photo

Until the 1930s, there wasn't many ways to treat those with mental illness. A sanctuary - an asylum - provided a safe, quiet environment away from the stresses of society. Work therapy was another method of treatment commonly used at Essondale and other mental institutions. But the thirties brought new methods to treat the patients - drugs, electro convulsive (shock) treatments and surgery.

Insulin shock treatment and metrazol convulsive therapy were introduced at Essondale and primarily used to treat those with schizophrenia. High doses of insulin were injected into a patient causing convulsions - insulin shock therapy. For the metrazol convulsive therapy, injections of a chemical that caused convulsions was injected into the schizophrenic. These treatments were in use for about ten years until electro convulsive therapy replaced them. Insulin coma therapy remained in use for many years later.

At the end of the 1930s, Canada was involved with World War II. Many of Essondale's staff joined the armed forces and the hospital received a wave of war-shocked veterans. Once again, Essondale was overcrowded as the population rose to 4,100. However, due to the war and the depression, there was no building on the grounds.

Keeping trained nurses was difficult as they followed their patriotic duty and joined the war effort. So there was many untrained nurses. In 1942, there were three students to one graduate nurse - more than 100 nurses quit that year. At one point, more than half the staff lacked experience and training in hospital work and psychiatric care.

In an attempt to correct this, Essondale hired aides to help. The educational requirement for an aide was Grade 9. The nursing shortage was somewhat relieved when Essondale allowed the hiring of married women. Essondale, like many employers of the time, thought that women should leave the workforce and become homemakers after marriage. The war time shortage changed that attitude.

The nursing shortage also had an impact on the Training School. At times, there were around 100 student nurses working the wards but they had to wait a year or more for formal instruction.

Since the late 19th century, men had played an important role in caring for the mentally ill. They were known as the 'keepers'. The students at Essondale's Training School were mainly female. Nine male students attended the school between 1937 to 1942.

In 1945, special courses were introduced for male Charge Attendants, which lead to a certificate of Psychiatric Nursing. Student education in a wide number of disciplines remained an important part of the hospital's operations.

Thanks to the PDF, Riverview, A Legacy of Care and Compassion for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill