A Day of Reflection: Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre Celebrates 100 Years
As centennial celebrations got underway at the Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre, in Twillingate, decades of employees, past and present, gathered for a day of reflection.
With each presentation commemorating 100 years, each handshake, hug, laugh and tear, one thing was abundantly clear, this celebration was as much a homecoming as it was a centennial event.
L-R: Patricia White, Debbie Bulgin and Goldie Bath reflect on their years at Notre Dame Memorial Regional Health Centre.
While brick and mortar make a hospital, it is the dedication and devotion of its people that give it life and see it flourish. Their connection to one another so deeply rooted that it goes beyond mere work acquaintances, colleagues or even friends. Through the years, staff and physicians of Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre have become like family.
“One hundred years of health care in a rural setting is a major milestone and one that we, as an organization, are proud of. The dedication of the men and women throughout the years to ensure the doors to the facility remained open is a true testament to perseverance,” said MaryLynn Pride, NL Health Services’ manager of site operations at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre. “In marking this milestone, we acknowledge those that came before us to set the groundwork for this achievement.”
Memorabilia from years gone by.
Originally named Notre Dame Bay Memorial Hospital, the 60-bed facility officially opened 100 years ago on September 20, 1924. The concept for the site was to honour loved ones who served in the Great War (World War I). Led by the residents of Twillingate, the hospital was completed after a three-year construction period at an approximate cost of $103,500.
The original hospital would continue serving area residents, even after receiving extensive fire damage in 1943, until being replaced with the current health centre in 1974.
Moved to tears
To honour his long-standing career as a doctor at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre and his deep connection with the staff and people of the region, the town of Twillingate surprised the Honourable Mohamed Ravalia, Senator for Newfoundland and Labrador, by renaming the street that the health centre is located on to “Ravalia Way.”
The commemoration ceremony, held on September 21, was a particularly moving day for the Honourable Mohamed Ravalia, Senator for Newfoundland and Labrador, who has been connected to the site and its people for the past 40 years.
Senator Ravalia started with Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre as a doctor in 1984. The centennial celebration provided an opportunity for the people of Twillingate to honour him for his decades of dedicated service. In a surprise announcement, during the 100th anniversary celebration, the town of Twillingate revealed that it is renaming the street that Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre is located on from Hospital Lane to Ravalia Way.
It was a gesture that evoked an emotional response from a stunned Dr. Ravalia.
Originally from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Senator Ravalia recalled moving to a new culture and climate, not knowing what to expect. What he found, he said, was a warm welcome and an altruistic and spiritual community.
“This community embraced me. They took me into their homes and their hearts. They helped to shape my ideas and ideals and stood by me through all my travails,” Senator Ravalia said.
“I am indebted to the entire team who helped shape our medical model. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my wife Dianne and my sons Adam and Mikhail for their unwavering love and support.”
The Honourable Mohamed Ravalia, Senator for Newfoundland and Labrador, and his wife, Dianne, attended the centennial celebration of Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre in Twillingate on September 21, 2024.
“I honestly cannot find the words to describe [the unveiling of the sign]. I was moved to tears, but I feel a profound sense of gratitude that it embeds my family name into a community that I love very dearly,” continued Senator Ravalia.
“It really is a part of my DNA in the sense that this is where I learned my craft and was able to apply it. It provided me with opportunities that took me to places that I could never have dreamed of. The awards, the privileges, Faculty of Medicine, then eventually to Parliament Hill where I have an opportunity to continue my advocacy for rural health and rural communities.”
In reflection
Annie Blake and Bob Stockley take great pride in having the opportunity to have worked at both the original Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre, pictured in the background, and the current site.
Annie Blake remembers the original hospital well. She began her 36-year career as an LPN there.
“It was such a busy site, but you worked with such a wonderful and close staff that you couldn’t help but love the work you were doing,” she recalled. “The new site was quite nice but it was still kind of sad when it opened in a way. We had so many great memories at the old hospital that you were kind of sad to see it go.”
Bob Stockley had the opportunity to work at both sites as well, starting at the original site in 1965 and remaining with Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre for the next 35 years.
“I take great pride in how we performed our duties and how we worked together as equals to deliver care,” he said, noting that it was not just a hospital for the people of Twillingate, as Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre was known for treating patients from throughout the province. Bob believes it is because the people of Newfoundland and Labrador knew the site’s reputation and had faith in its staff and physicians to provide safe, quality care.
The current Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre in Twillingate opened its doors on September 20, 1974.
The services at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre have changed over the years, now embracing primary care and strengthening its role as a site for learners in health care. Today, Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre provides outpatient, emergency department, in-patient, long-term care, laboratory (blood collection), medical imaging (X-ray) and community health services within the 49-bed facility.
Brenda Pardy joined the staff as a registered nurse 34 years ago, and she could not have asked for a better start to her career, as it allowed her to grow her skillset and learn from an experienced, close-knit team.
Brenda Pardy is a registered nurse at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre. The site provided her with an invaluable opportunity to develop and grow her skill set.
“People may look at it as an outport hospital but we were doing everything and it was very hands-on. You never knew what was going to come in through the doors,” Brenda recalled of first starting at the health centre.
It is an experience she would not have traded for the world.
“This place means everything to me, and the people of Twillingate,” she said. “There’s a security and comfort in knowing you have a place to go with great staff and great doctors.”
Social worker Colleen Froude agrees. While she has only been at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre for the past two and a half years, Colleen is originally from Twillingate.
Social worker Colleen Froude has been at Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre for the past two and a half years. Originally from Twillingate, she had been working towards getting back home to work alongside the staff and physicians of Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre.
“I feel very privileged to be able to be home and do my part to help the community,” said Froude.
“We really are a family. This place is home.”