Nova Scotia Sanatorium fonds

“In 1898-99, Dr. DeWitt connected the first two houses by a glassed-in solarium and established “Highland View Sanatorium,” Nova Scotia’s only tuberculosis hospital prior to the building of the N.S.Sanatorium in Kentville in 1910” (Streets of Wolfville by Dr. Kirkconnell, p. 12).
The Nova Scotia Sanatorium was established in 1904 under Medical Superintendent Dr. Arthur Frederick Miller (1877-1965, retired 1947). The hospital began 18 beds but, over time, grew to 20 buildings with 400 beds. Between 1910 and 1916, Dr. Miller was the only doctor on staff. In 1916, the hospital accepted 100 tuberculosis solders. An additional 100 soldiers were accepted in 1917. The nurses residence was build soon after. Several more buildings were erected until 1932, when the final building, being the New Infirmary, was opened. Dr. Vernon D. Schaffner (1904-1972) came on staff in 1934. With the addition of Dr. Edward William Archibald and Dr. Norman Bethune, a surgical program began in conjunction with the Eastern Kings Memorial Hospital as surgeries were not done at the Sanatorium until 1936. Dr. J. Earle Hiltz (1909-1969) arrived in 1935, becoming the Medical Superintendent in 1947 after Dr. Miller retired. New staff came to the hospital in 1941, including Dr. J.J. Quinlan (retired 1982), and again through the years 1944 to 1947. As tuberculosis became less prevalent and as different methods of treatment were discovered, the hospital became used less. During the 1950s, the staff were encouraged to become knowledgeable about other chest and
respiratory diseases. After Dr. Hiltz died, Dr. Helen M. Holden (1915-1994; who later married Dr. J.J. Quinlan) became the Acting Medical Superintendent and later the first Medical Director. The Sanatorium hospital ceased to exist in 1975, when it was amalgamated with the Blanchard-Fraser Memorial Hospital and became known as the Miller Hospital for Diseases of the Chest. Over time, many of the original buildings were torn down; the last one being in 2003.