Grand River Hospital’s Freeport campus marks 100-year milestone

The Freeport site of Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, Ont., is seen on Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (Brian Dunseith / CTV Kitchener)

Three years ago, Brian Grant spent more than a month at the Freeport campus of Grand River Hospital.

Due to complications from diabetes, his leg needed to be amputated. After undergoing surgery in Guelph, he was sent to Freeport for rehabilitation and physical therapy.

On Wednesday, as hundreds of people gathered to mark Freeport’s 100th anniversary as a medical centre, Grant was more than happy to speak about his time in the facility.

“The nurses and staff are all very kind, caring, considerate and professional,” he said in an interview.

“They get you out of here as fast as they can … and give you the tools you need to function at home.”

In fact, Grant remembers his time at Freeport so fondly that he’s recently started volunteering in its general store.

“I like to give back to a hospital that did a lot for me,” he said.

Freeport opened in 1916 as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. It was also used as a military hospital, and morphed into a rehab centre as treatments for tuberculosis improved.

These days, it specializes in areas including mental health, stroke recovery, long-term care and general rehabilitation.

“Our focus is on getting people back into the community, which sometimes is difficult when you have an acute injury,” said Dr. Anne Crowe, a physician and former medical director at the facility.

“The needs have changed (and) the diagnosis has changed, but the philosophy of care really hasn’t changed a lot in 100 years.”

With reporting by Mary Cranston