Museum of Health Care
Museum of Health Care
4.4
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
The story of Canadian health and medicine tells how people have preserved health and managed disease, pain, and suffering. The Museum of Health Care at Kingston strives to connect visitors with the experience of people in past times and provide context and perspective on today's health issues
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.4
36 reviews
Excellent
22
Very good
8
Average
4
Poor
1
Terrible
1
Greg B
Kingston, Canada11 contributions
Oct 2015 • Solo
This museum hoses some excellent artifacts such as an iron long and A medical electrostatic generator
Written March 7, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2ndhnymoon
Ontario57 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
I hadn't even heard of this museum before, so we were thrilled when we went. We had a guided tour from a history student, who did a great job. It took about an hour to go through all the exhibits and entrance is by donation. Definitely recommend!
Written July 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your recommendation and kind words. We are very proud of our museum and we are delighted that you had such a positive experience with us. We hope you'll come back and enjoy another visit in the future!
Sincerely,
Deanna Way
Written August 24, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ashely Fang
New York City, NY366 contributions
Jun 2023
It's a small, one floor museum but is absolutely fascinating! The exhibits are well-thought out and they utilize their limited space well. There's something for everyone - nurses, doctors, children, and anyone with a general health care interest can find something to spend time mulling over. With items stretching back centuries and mock room set ups, my friends and I had a blast. Our tour guide Ava did a great job giving us a run-through of the museum and tailored her approach to our interests, and the scavenger hunts for children was also fun to do. It's also located within walking distance of several other small Kingston museums, and admission is by donation.
Written June 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MASH16
Kingston, Canada400 contributions
Feb 2012 • Solo
The museum is housed in Kingston General Hospital. They seem to have displays, but having had family with nursing graduates I was very disappointed in the displays, much is in storage. Very picky and pretentious in what they want. Does little to celebrate history. Needs some guidance from people whose passion is health history. Glad the admission is by donation. However the archivist relegated to some old floor is very helpful and will assist you in many ways. Again much in storage!
Written November 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for comments about your visit to the Museum of Health Care. We are sorry to hear that your visit did not meet your expectations. We would like to take a minute to address, or try to clarify, some of the issues you raise.
The Museum of Health Care leases space, the Ann Baillie Building National Historic Site, from the Kingston General Hospital but we are an independent entity. We have a small staff that keeps things running, but unfortunately an archivist is not one of them. The archivist to whom I believe you refer is a KGH employee, responsible for documents pertaining specifically to KGH history. She is a fantastic resource and exceedingly helpful.
As you note, we do have seven onsite galleries (displays), one of which focuses on nursing history. We installed this exhibition in 2010, in consultation with an advisory board of nurses, historians, and KGH School of Nursing Alumni, to honour the history of the building in which we are housed and the experience and dedication of nurses. Though only two rooms are dedicated to the presentation of this material, we also offer several events over the year that present nursing history.
We do regularly consult with individuals and professional organizations whose passion is the history of health and medicine. I am sorry that this did not come across in our exhibitions. As mentioned above, all exhibitions are developed in consultation with an advisory board comprised of individuals with expertise in the subject area. Further, many of our board members are well-respected curators, historians, and/or physicians whose input into content and presentation is much valued.
Your main critique, as I read it, is that much of our collection is in storage. You are certainly correct; yet, this is very typical of most every museum. Generally speaking, approximately 1% of a museum’s collection is on display at any given time. The Museum of Health Care does offer Collections Tours by appointment and is happy to arrange access for researchers or individuals with specific interests. Additionally, our collection is accessible to the public online.
I’d also like to explain our collecting activities. We are selective about what we choose to take into our care for many reasons, including the condition and quality of the artefact and the impact of these on its interpretive use or preservation, whether it duplicates items already held, the space available to house it properly. At the present time our storage facilities are almost filled to capacity and, as a non-profit institution, our budget does not allow for an expansion of our storage facilities. Even so, we regularly add to our collection by several hundred artefacts per year. Our goal with the collection is to include the experiences of many types of healthcare providers and of patients alike.
We do appreciate your feedback. As we work to install new exhibitions in the coming years we will aim to communicate our interest and enthusiasm for the history of health care to each of our visitors.
Sincerely,
Pamela Peacock
Curator
Written November 7, 2012
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Colleen O
Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Canada44 contributions
Oct 2023 • Friends
Double check what days it is open. We went on a Sunday,closed. There were discrepancies on different websites. Disappointing
Written October 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pamela M
Toronto, Canada163 contributions
Jul 2021
So... couldn't view the museum due to COVID, BUT - they offer a 2 hour outdoor medical history walking tour of Kingston - $5 for a group of up to 10 people - you can't find better value for your money than that! Next time we are in Kingston we will visit the museum when it is open once again, post COVID.
Highly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in medical history. On par with visiting the Ether Dome in Boston.
Victor was our wonderful tour guide, and being that we were running about 10 minutes late (due to overbooking ourselves - we didn't realize the Kingston Pen Tour was 2.5 hours long - thankfully just a 2 minute drive down the road), he was kind enough to take us on the tour anyhow. The benefits of booking a tour that was just for us - they only allow 1 group booking per time slot. (at least for now, during COVID).
Victor was very knowledgable and had an old-fashioned doctor's bag full of laminated pictures and information to be brought out throughout the tour. Great for kids to keep them engaged throughout.
It's a tour around Kingston General Hospital (including the original hospital that is still standing) and the nearby Queen's Medical school. Lots of history dating back to the mid-1800's, including why it all came into existence, with stories on individuals.
Highly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in medical history. On par with visiting the Ether Dome in Boston.
Victor was our wonderful tour guide, and being that we were running about 10 minutes late (due to overbooking ourselves - we didn't realize the Kingston Pen Tour was 2.5 hours long - thankfully just a 2 minute drive down the road), he was kind enough to take us on the tour anyhow. The benefits of booking a tour that was just for us - they only allow 1 group booking per time slot. (at least for now, during COVID).
Victor was very knowledgable and had an old-fashioned doctor's bag full of laminated pictures and information to be brought out throughout the tour. Great for kids to keep them engaged throughout.
It's a tour around Kingston General Hospital (including the original hospital that is still standing) and the nearby Queen's Medical school. Lots of history dating back to the mid-1800's, including why it all came into existence, with stories on individuals.
Written August 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan G
Maryland46 contributions
Aug 2019
A history of both healthcare in Kingston and healthcare through the ages. One exhibit what nursing programs looked like a hundred years ago. The museum also has a fantastic exhibit on vaccines and infectious diseases. There are also a number of special exhibits, such as healthcare during the Great War.
Written September 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It's true, good things come in small packages! Glad you enjoyed your visit!
Written September 10, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
sigehaizi
Sooke, Canada206 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
This is a one floor museum sitting next door to Kingston General Hospital that filled in an hour of my time - also a great way to get out of the sun. There is a lot of informative reading to do, take your glasses for any small print because it is quite interesting. The nurse's room was larger than I expected - I had always thought nurses had to share rooms when training. Check out the iron lung and some of the strange contraptions.
Written August 3, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit to our Museum, and we hope to see you again! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
Written August 4, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Cesar R
Caxias Do Sul, RS315 contributions
Dec 2016 • Friends
This place is small, but it has very historical things. There are antique devices such as a old X-ray machine, a anesthesia system and so on. You should visit the museum, but don't think is a huge place.
Written December 14, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dee D
Barrie, Canada26 contributions
Oct 2013 • Friends
This was a cute little 1 floor museum of medical history. Learned a few things here and even remember some! Some of the displays were in storage, I assume because of the shortage of space. Admission was free or donations accepted.
Enjoyed this tour.
Enjoyed this tour.
Written October 14, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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