1896
The Pemberton Memorial Operating Room is built for the sum of $3,614.00 with funds donated by the estate of J. D. Pemberton, the first Surveyor General for the colony of Vancouver Island.

A hospital patient today expects the very latest in medical technology for diagnosis and treatment. In earlier centuries, however, those who could afford it were treated at home even if surgery was needed, and hospitals were regarded as a refuge for the poor in times of sickness.
British surgeon Lord Joseph Lister (1827-1912) developed the principles of “Antiseptic Surgery” in 1865, based on Pasteur’s germ theory of disease. Surgery moved from a ward side-room or the kitchen table to a dedicated, sterile operating room. This landmark of early medical technology changed the role of the hospital for rich and poor alike.
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