toh

December 10, 2015 – The Ottawa General Hospital, which became the General Campus after amalgamation in 1998, was an organization built by the Sisters of Charity and their founder, Elizabeth Bruyère in 1845. In part because of this history, the tradition of displaying the nativity scene during the holiday season has long been a beloved tradition for many staff there.

The hospital received complaints in recent years about the nativity display. This year we asked our Workplace of Choice committee to seek feedback from a variety of people and groups throughout the hospital, to carefully review the issue and to provide advice to the Senior Leadership Team.

After thoughtful consideration, the hospital has decided to continue displaying the nativity scene, in the spirit of respect and inclusiveness. The decision is fundamentally based on the belief that TOH should be welcoming and celebrate diversity, while recognizing that the spiritual side of care is quite significant for many of our patients. Celebrating diversity is consistent with our value of “respect for the individual.”

The committee also recommended that the hospital dedicate greater efforts toward celebrating diversity and honouring other faiths and cultures. If you have advice or suggestions to ensure that we meet our goals of respecting and celebrating diversity at TOH, please email the webmaster: feedback@toh.ca