Lake Edward Sanatorium
The Lake Edward Sanatorium was created to treat tuberculosis patients before the availability of antibiotics and was long the main employer in Lac Édouard village.
[1] The hospital complex is situated at the end of Lake Edward Village in "Haute Mauricie", in the province de Québec, Canada.
The complex is built on a peninsula, north-east of lake Edward, 28 km long, at the head spring of Batiscan river.
The railway was the only access to lake Édouard and the telegraph was the only means to communicate with Québec city to order material or technical help.
The six service doors of the repair shop (train roundhouse, called the "Rotonde") were set in a semi-circle allowing access to steam locomotives on a large turntable.
The railway opened a large forested area and wealthy Americans rented tracts of land for hunting and fishing from the Québec government.
In 1905,[11] as the house was not large enough for all the potential patients, Turner founded the Lake Edward Sanatorium Association with wealthy friends.
After 1921, the association changed its mission in order to financially aid English hospitals and charitable organisations of Québec city.
[14] In 1915, during the first world war, the Military Hospitals Commission took charge of the sanatorium to treat the soldiers sick of tuberculosis or suffering from toxic gas.
In 1922, the provincial Government granted 75,000 Canadian dollars to the "soeurs de la Charité" for a new construction (probably the nun's villa); on 20 February 1925, the government granted a monthly sum of 1,500 Canadian dollars for 20 years, to accommodate a maximum of 135 patients and to provide for needy patients.
The East annex was moved and became the infirmary; in its place, the brick building of the Couillard's wing was built.
The West annex was also moved and became the north part of the "Ruche" (hive); in its place the St-Helen's wing was built.
Between the nun's villa and the sanatorium, the tunnel was large enough to be used by employees during the hard winters when the temperature often drops below forty degrees.
The farm buildings included a barn, sheds for the machinery and a green house located near the "ruche" with a vegetable garden.
The sanatorium was then converted as a veterans hospital and later as a rehabilitation center for physically handicapped or mentally retarded people.
On 24 October 1980, the provincial government created the "Corporation Village Plein Air du Lac Édouard" (P.A.L.E.)
The heated surfaces being much smaller than during the sanatorium's days, the operation of the large, high-pressure steam boiler plant wasted energy and was very costly in manpower.
