History

Saint Elizabeth Health Care has been an active participant in the development of community health since 1908. With an original staff of only four nurses, the organization began operations more than a century ago as Saint Elizabeth Visiting Nurses' Association of Ontario, at the request of Archbishop F.P. McEvay.

In our early years, nurses provided mostly prenatal and paediatric care, making their way to clients' homes on foot or by streetcar. Within two decades, Saint Elizabeth nurses were making more than 10,000 visits per year. During World War II, Saint Elizabeth Health Care contributed to the war effort by providing maternity care, assisting in the wartime day nurseries and offering food and shelter to those in need.

While the role of community visiting nurses changed with the growth of hospitals in the post-war period, the need for our work did not decline. On the contrary, as our population's health care needs became more complex, the demand for quality care in the community increased and continues to do so today. To reflect the broadening of our services, in 1995 we changed our name to Saint Elizabeth Health Care.

Ahead by a Century
In 2008, Saint Elizabeth Health Care marked its 100th anniversary of serving the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and families in their homes and communities.

• View historical milestones
• Read more about our 100th celebrations

Throughout the past century, our organization has provided vision and leadership to the growth and advancement of home and community-based health care in Canada. Some of our historical “firsts” and innovations include:

• Community-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS
  In the late 1980s, at a time when little was known about the disease, Saint Elizabeth Health Care was one of the first in Ontario to provide community-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Demonstrating leadership and compassion, our palliative care nurses became very involved in raising awareness and educating nurses both within our organization and outside about caring for clients with HIV/AIDS.
   
• Home Chemotherapy
  Saint Elizabeth Health Care achieved a breakthrough in cancer care when we became the first organization in Canada to provide chemotherapy in the home. The program was launched in 1997, in cooperation with several hospitals including the Hospital for Sick Children. Home Chemotherapy is designed for individuals who have difficulty getting to and from the clinic or hospital for treatments, as well as those who prefer to receive treatment in the comfort of their own home.
   
• An original partner to eCHN
  In 1997, Saint Elizabeth Health Care partnered with the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and other regional paediatric centres to introduce the Electronic Child Health Network (eCHN). This innovative collaboration provides online information on children's health for kids, their families and health care professionals. The Network also ensures that a child's health record is available electronically to health care providers when and where they require it. Visit the eCHN website.
   
• Care that's always there: @YourSide®
  SEHC has long been a leader in incorporating technology to support new and innovative ways of delivering care and information and improve health care practices. With marvellous kernels of a concept for web-based solutions to assist clients, families and their health care providers, Saint Elizabeth Health Care set out more than 10 years ago on a journey that has led to the development and expansion of an exciting new approach to learning and care.

Today, we are excited to be sharing our wealth of talent, knowledge and experience – provincially, nationally and internationally – to create even greater innovations that put people at the centre of their own health care. Please join us as we embark on our second century of caring!