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Shouldice Hospital (formerly Shouldice Hernia Centre) is a private hospital located in Markham, Ontario, Canada, at 7750 Bayview Avenue in the Thornhill district. The hospital specializes in hernia care. Its location is the former estate of George McCullagh, a publisher who created The Globe and Mail newspaper in 1936.

History

The hospital was founded in 1945 by Dr. Earle Shouldice. While private hospitals are not allowed under Ontario's Private Hospitals Act, Shouldice Hospital is one of seven private hospitals in the province grandfathered under the Act. The hospital has been continuously family run from its inception but is partially publicly funded.

In the 2020s, Liberty Development planned to build five residential towers on the property. In September 2022, the City of Markham purchased the Shouldice property for CA$188 million, to transform the lands into a public park, while continuing the lease for the hospital.

Work

Shouldice Hospital is a private hospital that operates in a public health care system. It works solely on hernia repair. It uses a natural tissue, tension free, technique developed during World War II by Dr. Shouldice. The hospital performs hernia repairs on over 6,500 patients a year.

Everything in the hospital is designed toward hernia repair. Shouldice's rooms do not have telephones or televisions, which it says is to encourage patients to walk around while recovering. The hospital is laid out like a "country club." According to the hospital, it has the lowest rate of complications and recurrences of hernias in the world. The success of its method has been cited to the fact that Shouldice surgeons solely do hernia operations.

Notable patients at the hospital have included U.S. politician Rand Paul, former Canadian prime minister Joe Clark, former leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Jack Layton and consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

Harvard Business School business case

The facility was the subject of a 1983 business case by the Harvard Business School. Written by James Heskett, the report is the school's fourth-best-selling business case, selling over 259,000 copies. The case study focuses on Shouldice's unique three-day hernia repair process. The popularity of the business case is responsible for the hospital's process becoming known outside of Canada.

References

1. ^ Pitts, Gordon (9 January 2006). "Hernia hospital teaches Harvard about service". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
2. "It's a world-renowned, for-profit Ontario hospital. Could Shouldice be a model for private health care?". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
3. ^ Hauch, Valerie (September 23, 2012). "Shouldice hernia centre likely to move in four years". The Toronto Star. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
4. "Everything you always wanted to know about Rand Paul and the Shouldice Hernia Hospital * but were afraid to ask". 15 January 2019.
5. Wong, Irene (September 12, 2022). "City of Markham spends $188M to purchase Shouldice Hospital lands in Thornhill for public use". Markham Economist & Sun. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
6. Gordon Pitts (April 23, 2018). "Hernia hospital teaches Harvard about service". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
7. "Welcome to Shouldice Hernia Hospital, The Global Leader in Non-Mesh Hernia Repair". Shouldice Hospital. Shouldice Hospital. Retrieved July 2, 2019. ...every year over 6,500 patients trust Shouldice Hospital to repair their abdominal wall hernia.
8. Worthington, Peter (2007-01-17). "A blueprint for our health-care system". Canoe. Sun Media. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
9. Gawande, Atul (1998-03-30). "No Mistake". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
10. Gollom, Mark (2022-09-22). "It's a world-renowned, for-profit Ontario hospital. Could Shouldice be a model for private health care?". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-22.

External links

• Official website

• Hospitals in the Regional Municipality of York
• Hospitals established in 1945
• Buildings and structures in Markham, Ontario