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24-484: In 1895, doctors serving what was then the west end of Toronto united in hopes of building a full hospital facility to serve this overlooked locale. Twelve doctors signed a pledge to fulfill their vision and soon after, the Toronto Western Hospital was born. The Toronto Western Hospital opened first as a public dispensary , followed by a 30-bed hospital operating out of two rented houses on Manning Avenue. With

48-615: A new patient care tower that will increase capacity for inpatients, operating rooms, and other units. The expansion is projected to increase neurosurgical procedures by 10% over the next ten years. The hospital has a royal patron, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh . [REDACTED] Media related to Toronto Western Hospital at Wikimedia Commons 43°39′13″N 79°24′20″W  /  43.653598°N 79.405505°W  / 43.653598; -79.405505 Public dispensary A public dispensary , charitable dispensary or free dispensary gives advice and medicines free-of-charge, or for

72-538: A normal regulatory environment was required (similar to companies, health and other business (loan organisations). The 2014 Act also provided that existing societies may not establish a 'loan fund' from the commencement of the Act (July 28, 2014). Friendly societies are registered under either the Friendly Societies Act 1974 or the Friendly Societies Act 1992. There are the following types of society registered under

96-594: A role based on solidarity and democracy without an objective to make profit. The current position of the mutual benefit society in Europe is well described in a report from 2012, commissioned by the European Commission . Healthcare mutuals worldwide are coming together in Association Internationale de la Mutualité , a Brussels-based association of healthcare mutuals. Friendly societies in countries such as

120-581: A small charge. In the 19th and early 20th centuries a provident dispensary was a clinic offering medical care to people who made a small weekly payment as a kind of medical insurance. In England, from the later 18th Century onwards, there was a growth in Medical Philanthropy. This saw the establishment of voluntary hospitals offering in-patient and dispensaries offering out-patient treatment. By 1800 dispensaries dealt with at least 10,000 admissions per year. There are competing claims to where

144-489: Is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance , pensions, savings or cooperative banking . It is a mutual organization or benefit society composed of a body of people who join together for a common financial or social purpose. Before modern insurance and the welfare state , friendly societies provided financial and social services to individuals, often according to their religious, political, or trade affiliations. These societies are still widespread in many parts of

168-541: Is also the Registrar for Friendly Societies, Industrial and Provident Societies and Trade Unions). In 2014 the Friendly Societies and Industrial and Provident Societies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2014, provided for the cessation of new friendly societies; as a result no new societies may be registered. It was felt that the form of organisation had outlived its usefulness, largely for reasons mentioned above. When

192-569: The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 , which has renamed these societies as co-operative or community benefit societies. Examples include co-operatives for consumers, workers, agriculture and housing, working men's clubs , Women's Institute markets, allotment societies, mutual investment companies, housing associations and some social enterprises . Many sports clubs are registered under these provisions. Friendly societies, alongside other mutual societies, are registered with

216-512: The 1830s and have evolved into member-focused providers of financial services, healthcare, retirement living, aged and home care services, transport, pharmacies and other fraternal services to over 800,000 members. They typically provide savings, investment and insurance products. In Ireland, friendly societies are registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies under the Friendly Societies Acts 1896–2014 (the Registrar for Companies

240-754: The 19th century e.g. the York Female Friendly Society, founded in 1788 by Faith Gray and Catherine Cappe . Grey and Cappe ran schools for girls and this society was intended to assist them. Another early Female Society was the Wisbech Female Friendly Society instituted on 1 February 1796. In Australia, friendly societies are regulated under the Life Insurance Act 1995 (C'th) and registered with APRA . Friendly societies were first established in Australia by community groups in

264-621: The Friendly Societies Act 1974: The activities of these societies varies, but includes: Some friendly societies are still governed by the 1974 act, although no new societies can be registered under that act. Friendly societies registered under the Friendly Societies Act 1992 are incorporated entities and are registered for effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance. Similar organisations were called industrial and provident societies . They are trading businesses or voluntary organisations. Recent legal developments in Great Britain include

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288-540: The United Kingdom were subject to prudential regulation to safeguard the financial interests of their members and secure the benefits promised to them, but the legislation (see for example the Friendly Societies Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 60)) was separate from that applicable to insurance companies. In other countries friendly societies have no specific legal status, which means that they have to comply to

312-622: The developing world, where they are referred to as ROSCAs (rotating savings and credit associations), ASCAs (accumulating savings and credit associations), burial societies, chit funds, etc. Before the development of large-scale government and employer health insurance and other financial services, friendly societies played an important part in many people's lives. Many of these societies still exist. In some countries, some of them developed into large mutually-run financial institutions, typically insurance companies, and lost any social and ceremonial aspect they may have had; in others they continue to have

336-530: The dispensary. In the main the medical practitioners engaged by dispensaries offered their services for free. One of the earlier English cities to have a provident dispensary was Coventry (dispensary opened in 1830) where, in the 1840s, members subscribed one penny a week for adults and a halfpenny a week for each of their children. This was seen as a suitable arrangement for working-class people who wanted to be provident and self-reliant, avoiding charitable treatment offered to 'paupers', but with no hope of paying

360-519: The fees charged to wealthier people. A provident dispensary needed a few hundred 'club' members to pay for one doctor. Some dispensaries had extra funding from philanthropists, and some arranged for hospital specialists to see dispensary patients at reduced fees. Doctors at a few provident dispensaries, in London for example, would visit patients at home. A provident dispensary was opened in Buffalo, New York in

384-669: The first dispensary was founded but it is clear that dispensaries began being established in numbers from 1770 onwards. The Philadelphia Dispensary for the Medical Relief of the Poor, founded in 1786, is considered to be the first public dispensary in the United States. According to a historian of health services "During the nineteenth century access to healthcare was class based" . Dispensaries were funded by voluntary subscriptions. Subscribers would "recommend" local people to be treated by

408-424: The minister's staff examined the register, it was found that only three new societies had registered in the previous nine years, as the use of the traditional friendly society types of business had become regulated elsewhere and a 'rump', which on examination are largely public-service types, remain (mainly army, customs, gardaí , and prison officers). Many of the others could expect to cease to trade if additional, or

432-535: The same rules and regulations as for-profit insurance companies. In some cases, especially in America, members typically paid a regular membership fee and went to lodge meetings to take part in ceremonies. If members became sick, they would receive an allowance to help them meet their financial obligations. The society might have a doctor whom the member could consult for free. Members of the lodge would visit to provide emotional and other support (and possibly to verify that

456-540: The second half of the 19th century. In some places the same need might be met by friendly societies organised by the members themselves. Provident dispensaries, on the other hand, were usually set up by prosperous well-wishers and/or by a doctor, as Sophia Jex-Blake did in Edinburgh , with support from a committee. Friendly society A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society , mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA )

480-507: The sick member was not malingering ). When a member died, the funeral would be paid for and the members of the lodge might attend in ceremonial dress. Often, there was some money left over for the next of kin. Friendly societies might also organize social functions such as dances, and some had sports teams for members. They occasionally became involved in political issues that were of interest to their members. Others were purely financial, with little or no social side, from their foundation—this

504-575: The support of several influential citizens, enough money was raised by 1899 to acquire a nearby farmhouse property and to build the Western on its present site at the corner of Bathurst and Dundas Streets . During construction, patients were treated under large tents until the hospital opened year-round in 1905. The 1906 North Wing, 1910 South Wing and 1911/1923 additions were designed by E. J. Lennox but since demolished. The main wing or McLaughlin Pavilion

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528-542: Was built in 1935 by Govan Ferguson Lindsay Kaminker Langley Keenleyside and renovated in 2003 by Dunlop-Farrow Architects and Murray Hilgers Architects. Like the Toronto General Hospital , Toronto Western Hospital saw several renovations over the years and today occupies a full city block. The East Wing was built in 2005. In 2022, the Government of Ontario announced that Toronto Western will be expanded to include

552-507: Was more typical in Britain. The first mutual savings bank , founded in Scotland in 1810, was called the "Savings and Friendly Society". Credit unions and other types of organization are modern equivalents. Friendly society brasses were the emblems of village friendly societies or clubs common in the west of England between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. The use of brasses as emblems

576-514: Was particularly prevalent in Somerset and the surrounding counties. The Museum of English Rural Life has a collection of over 900 Friendly Society Brasses aka poleheads. The design of the brasses was sometimes conventional or sometimes represented an interest of the club such as the inn in which the meetings were held. Female friendly societies became a common form of friendly society in England during

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