A portrait circa 1910 of Taube Kaplan – reproduced from the Montreal Clinical Society history souvenir book.
Photo Credit : Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives
Nurses and doctors outside of the Hebrew Maternity Hospital in 1925 which offered obstetrics to Jewish and non-Jewish women. It was a precursor, along with the Herzl Dispensary, to the Jewish General Hospital and was founded in large part through the efforts of Taube Kaplan. It was located on Cadieux Street (now de Bullion St.).
Taube Kaplan pictured with three of her children in Vilnius. From left to right: Mrs. Rachel Bach, Mr. Ben Wiseman, Mrs. Anna Arons. Seated: Mrs. Taube Kaplan.
At a time when Montreal's infant mortality rate was one of the highest in the world, Taube Kaplan went door to door to collect the funds necessary for the creation of the first Jewish maternity hospital in Montreal.
In the 1910s, Montreal’s infant mortality rate was among the highest in the world: more than one in five children died before their first birthday. The situation was especially dire in the impoverished neighbourhoods that were home to many of the city’s Jewish immigrants. In 1914, Kaplan proposed the creation of a hospital providing prenatal and postpartum care for young Jewish women. In response to the massive immigration of mostly destitute Eastern European Jews, Kaplan sought to provide services for mothers otherwise unable to afford it. The hospital was created specifically for Jewish women, and served kosher food.
Kaplan achieved a feat that would be almost unthinkable today, canvassing door-to-door for years to raise funds for the construction of the Montreal Hebrew Maternity Hospital. The individual donations she collected financed the purchase of a building on Cadieux Street (today Rue De Bullion), to be turned into a hospital. With the support of several influential individuals, among them a group of physicians headed by Dr. J. R. Goodall, the project was completed in 1916.
Kaplan was a pioneer in the area of Jewish hospital services at a time when none were available in Montreal. Her actions led to the creation of a precursor institution to the Jewish General Hospital. She also played an important role with regard to the position of Jewish women in society. While women in general were only just beginning to become involved in public matters and institutions, such participation was even less common in Kaplan’s Orthodox community. A woman of modest origins who taught Hebrew and religion several hours a week to supplement her husband’s meagre income, Kaplan consistently refused recognition for her efforts. This led her to decline the honour of having a ward named after her in the future Montreal Jewish General Hospital.
