Pembroke’s Nursing History
A century of training nurses
The City of Pembroke has a rich history in Nursing, beginning with two nurse training schools associated with both the Protestant and Catholic hospitals of the time.
Pembroke Cottage Hospital Nurse Training
A group of women from prominent Pembroke families formed the Pembroke Cottage Hospital Association, which was incorporated in 1896. Their dream of a new hospital came to fruition in 1902, when the 22-bed Cottage Hospital was erected on Dickson Street in Pembroke.
A nursing training school soon followed, training nurses until 1937. The last class of four students completed their final training in 1938 at nearby hospitals. The Pembroke Cottage Hospital later became the Pembroke Civic Hospital on Cecelia Street, which was closed in 1996 through provincial hospital restructuring decisions.
Lorrain School of Nursing – General Hospital
Sister St. Elizabeth of the Grey Nuns of the Cross, who trained at the Youville School of Nursing at the Ottawa General Hospital, founded the Lorrain School of Nursing in 1916. The School, associated with the Pembroke General Hospital, graduated its first class in May of 1919. In 1926, the nursing school and hospital were transferred to the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, a newly formed English-speaking community. Over the next six decades, the Lorrain School trained hundreds of nurses until nursing education was transferred to the Ontario College system in the early 1970s.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree Program – Algonquin College
The 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program was first offered in 2003, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa. The change to a degree program was mandated by the province of Ontario during its phase-out of all diploma nursing programs in the Ontario college system, and the requirement that all new nursing graduates obtain a minimum BScN degree to practise as a registered nurse in the province.
On May 31, 2008, the first 12 graduates of the BScN program received their degrees. Since that time our popular program attracts students from all over Ontario.