Our History

New book captures Sunnybrook's history

Sunnybrook Hospital: Our Veteran's Legacy of Care, a Photographic Journey Through the Decades

At the end of the Second World War, Canada's heroic men and women; soldiers, airmen, and seamen, returned home and were cared for at a grand hospital in the park. As time marched on, the military hospital that cared for veterans, evolved into a renowned health sciences centre - the world-class Sunnybrook that we know today.

In celebration of our rich past, a new book entitled, Sunnybrook Hospital: Our Veteran's Legacy of Care, a Photographic Journey Through the Decades was published by Dundurn Press last May. With a glossy hardcover and featuring 155 photographs, readers are taken on a journey from the beginning days, to our coming of age, to our birth and growth as a major teaching hospital, and into the twenty-first century.

"From the very beginning, it was to be a hospital of great magnitude. The most pre-eminent physicians and surgeons in Toronto had been recruited to provide exemplary medical care to war veterans," says Dr. Peeter Poldre, Vice President, Medical Professional Practice and the book's editor. "New procedures in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal problems, spinal cord injuries, cardiovascular conditions, plastic surgery and rehabilitation medicine were all pioneered at Sunnybrook. The Sunnybrook story is one that is unlike any other hospital in the country."

Sunnybrook has grown in both size and scope over the years, however this book is more than mere history. It is a chronicle of the contributions of one of Canada's most dynamic hospitals and the people who made it what it is today. This is Sunnybrook's legacy.

It's the perfect holiday gift! The book is available through our Bayview Campus gift shops in M-wing and K-wing, in bookstores or online through the publisher at www.dundurn.com.

Proceeds from the sale of the book will support The Sunnybrook Foundation.