History of Ostomy Toronto
§ In 1950 the first organized meeting of ostomates occurred at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. The meeting was organized by Albert S. Lyons, MD and the social worker Miss L.M. Leary and was attended by eight women patients who had received ileostomies as a treatment for ulcerative colitis. At the time, those requiring ostomy surgery were admitted to either the Q or T Wards of Mount Sinai Hospital, as such the group referred to themselves as QT New York.
§ By 1956 similar groups had formed in both Boston and Detroit. In recognition of the New York group, these groups referred to themselves as QT Boston and QT Detroit.
§ In 1958 Helen (Crockford) Laing of Toronto travelled to Boston to visit the ostomates who had formed Q.T. Boston.
§ In September 1958, with the information she had learned in Boston, Helen Laing helped organize the inaugural meeting of the Ileostomy Association of Toronto. Ten members and four relatives were present at this meeting. Basil Sandiford was elected the first president of the group, and membership dues were set at $1.00 a year. The original members were all ileostomates although in time ileal conduit patients became full members while some colostomates became associate members.
§ In October 1959, the Annual Meeting was held at the Canadian Cancer Society located at 443 Mount Pleasant Road.
§ In November 1960, Basil Sandiford attended the first Ileostomy-Colostomy Conference in New York. The meetings were held at the New York Academy of Medicine and organized by QT New York. The meetings included presentations by patients and panel discussions featuring surgeons, internists, gastroenterologists, and psychologists.
§ In 1961 American and Canadian ostomy groups met again, this time in Detroit. At this meeting the 13 US groups agreed to consider the founding of a national organization. The Ileostomy Association of Toronto decided that it did not see any useful purpose would be served by our group amalgamating with the States at this time.
§ In 1962, delegates from 24 American ostomy groups met in Cleveland and approved the creation of the United Ostomy Association (U.O.A.).
§ By 1964, Gordon Gladwin had been elected president of the Ileostomy Association of Toronto and talk had resumed about joining the U.O.A. In November of that year Murray Smith of Toronto attended the U.O.A. meetings in New York and upon his return stated There is much to gain and nothing to lose by joining the U.O.A.
§ In 1965, Murray Smith was elected president of the Ileostomy Association of Toronto and in February the association agreed to join the U.O.A. for a one year trial. In August Dianne Garde attended the fourth Annual Meeting of the U.O.A. in Atlanta as a representative of the association.
§ By 1968, the Ileostomy Association of Canada held meetings at the Academy of Medicine, 228 Bloor Street West.
§ In March 1969, Toronto area colostomates met formally for the first time and decided to form their own association. Dr. George Lucas was the first president of the Colostomy Association of Toronto and membership dues were set at $5.00 a year.
§ In March 1969, The Ileostomy Association produced a movie entitled the Ileostomist. This was done with members of the group providing the acting talent and was conceived as an educational film for teaching and visiting.
§ By 1970, the Ileostomy and Colostomy associations agreed to meet together at a combined meeting once a year.
§ In 1971, Victor Rice was elected president of the Colostomy Association and helped lead the association into an affiliation with the United Ostomy Association.
§ In August 1975, the two Toronto Ostomy groups co-hosted the Thirteenth Annual U.O.A. Conference at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto with the Hamilton and District Ostomy Association under the Chairmanship of Alan Porter.
§ By March of 1982, overtures made by the Ileostomy Association to the Colostomy Association regarding merging the two groups bore fruit. The merger took place in June 1982 and the first meeting of Ostomy Toronto was held in September 1982 with Albert Reedijk being elected the first president of Ostomy Toronto. A new logo was created that consisted of stylized letters O and T. Elements of the original logo exist in todays newer logo.
§ In 1986, Ostomy Toronto co-hosted the Annual U.O.A. Conference with the Hamilton Group the event again taking place at the Royal York Hotel.
§ In 1998, Ostomy Toronto, along with the newly formed United Ostomy Association of Canada, opened a Resource Centre staffed by volunteers on the Fourteenth Floor at Mount SinaiHospital.
§ In 2002, the Resource Centre moved to Suite 501, 344 Bloor Street West and shared office space with United Ostomy Association of Canada. Carol Rodda was hired to manage the centre. This year also saw the creation of both the Bill Barber Fund, established for the special needs of ostomates, and the Ostomy Toronto website www.ostomytoronto.com.
§ In 2006, Ostomy Toronto applied for and received a grant from the Trillium Foundation to support the needs of our members and future members.
History compiled and provided by Dianne Garde. Early information on U.O.A. provided by the late Albert S. Lyons, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Surgery, 88 Central Park West, New York
Past Presidents
Founding Organizations and present day Ostomy Toronto
Ileostomy Association of Toronto Colostomy Association of Toronto
1958 1963 Basil Sandiford 1969 1971 Dr. George Lucas
1963 1965 Gordon Gladwin 1971 1973 Victor Rice
1965 1968 Murray Smith 1973 1976 Albert Reedjik
1968 1969 Alan Pimblott 1976 1979 Ronald Maitland
1969 1972 Les May 1979 1982 Edward Harvey
1972 1974 Len Brooks
1974 1976 Barbara Roberton
1976 1978 Mollie Gafney
1978 1981 George Richardson
1981 1982 Mary Bigelow
Ostomy Toronto
1982 1984 Albert Reedjik
1984 1990 Mary Bigelow
1990 1992 Dianne Morgan
1992 2002 Lorne Aronson
2002 2008 Debra Pelletier
2008 Di Bracken
Ostomy Toronto - Award Winners
The John Thompson Outstanding Leadership Award
2003 - Lorne Aronson - Past President
2008 - Debra Pelletier - Past President
The Dr. Greg Olscamp Outstanding Medical Service Award
2003 - Dianne Garde, ET
2008 - Dr Fred Saibil MD, FRCPC. Division of Gastroenterology at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
The Mary Bigelow Outstanding Hospitality Service Award
2008 - Two recipients: Muriel Kinnear & Jean Perin