The first hospital opened in Kirkland Lake was the
Kirkland Lake Red Cross Hospital, in 1926. Subsequently, the old
Kirkland & District Hospital was built sometime around the 1940s on 2nd Street, across from the Kirkland Lake Collegiate & Vocational Institute. The hospital was partially financed by the prospector
William Henry "Bill" Wright, who donated money to build the east wing of the hospital which bore his name. The current hospital was opened October 15, 1975, by Orval L. Archer (one of the former presidents of the hospital board). The hospital was originally equipped with 132 beds, but downsized to the present 62 beds. In October 2020, the Kirkland & District Hospital amalgamated with the Englehart & District Hospital, under the Blanche River Health system. The Kirkland site is associated with several Ontario colleges and universities, including the
Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), The
University of Toronto School of Medicine,
Nipissing University, College Boreal (DI), Northern College. ==References==