Story 4: Remember When... The Pope Visited Ottawa?

Pope John Paul II made history as the first Pope to visit Canada during his pilgrimage from September 9 – 20, 1984. He concluded his visit in Ottawa, where Queensway Carleton Hospital’s Emergency Department played a special role helping set up MASH tents to support his mass on LeBreton Flats. With around 400,000 mass attendants, QCH was ready to provide care and support for anything that came their way.

A group photo of the emergency team sitting at the back of the bus — *Bright and early: The QCH emergency team travelled to LeBreton Flats, snapping a group photo of the team on the bus on the way.*

Massive tents were brought in and all supplies were ordered and prepped in the make-shift hospitals complete with triage, trauma, exam rooms, and observation. With a team leader, four nurses, a plaster technician, two physicians, clerks, and volunteers located in each tent, the field hospitals treated minor wounds from trip and falls, applying tetanus shots as well as treating a number of police officers who were suffering from what was likely food poisoning.