Our Society

Before the Health Care Society and the current Health Care Center existed, the residents of this island relied almost exclusively on one woman for health care: registered nurse Elisabeth Stewart.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, although we had some part-time visiting doctors, Betty Scoones (as she was known by locals) was who you went to for medical assistance of any kind. The community remembers her generous assistance to people in need.

In 1984 some concerned residents decided to band together and form a non-profit health care society to provide more stable and accessible health care for Galiano. In 1985 the Galiano Health Care Society was registered and work began on securing funding and a site. In 1990 the Lions secured 10 acres from the Farmhouse Inn, and after considerable effort and work with both the CRD and the Island’s Trust, the 2 acres that now house the Health Care Centre were rezoned and building could begin. The centre officially opened its doors on April 27,1991.

This community is forever appreciative of the vision demonstrated by our pioneers in creating this Society, which gave access to professional medical care, and continues to provide state-of -the-art medical care and health related programs to residents.