Sept. 2025
Ashima Sehajpal, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

“It was the right thing to do.” And that was it.  

For Dr. William Goldberg and Sister Mary Grace, that defining belief was rationale enough to establish the dialysis program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton in 1964.  

The establishment of the program was a milestone for Dr. Goldberg, who served as chief of medicine from 1962 to 1981, as well as Sister Mary Grace, who was then the hospital’s administrator. At a time, when the public health system was still in its formative years and resources were scant, Dr. Goldberg forged the way for a large-scale medical program that would offer a new lease on life to thousands. But for all his successes, Dr. Goldberg resists the “visionary” label.  

“We did what the time demanded,” he recalled in a recent interview on the eve of his 100th birthday. “Patients were dying of kidney ailments and opening a chronic dialysis centre was a natural thing to do.”  

Since then, the program has grown to become one of the largest in the province, providing vital care to thousands of people across the region. Currently, the program operates across four St. Joe’s sites and provides 76,000 treatments to its patient population annually. Over the next decade, the number of dialysis patients receiving care at St. Joe’s is expected to rise by 15 per cent.  

The 1950s-60s were a tumultuous period for St. Joe’s. On the brink of losing its accreditation, Sister Mary Grace, then administrator, brought on board Dr. Goldberg beside Dr. Ken Williams, the first medical director to serve in a Catholic hospital in Canada, to chart the path of excellence.  

From Dr. Goldberg’s perspective, exceptional patient care delivered with compassion could bring back the hospital’s accreditation.  

“It was only possible if we had a teaching hospital where interns and residents trained while caring for the patients,” he said.  

To bring their vision to fruition, Dr. Goldberg, alongside his fellow pioneers, laid the groundwork for clinical and educational excellence by launching a one-year residency program in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Soon, the cohorts would fill up as the program gained immense popularity. “And that’s how St. Joe’s transitioned from being a cottage hospital into a teaching hospital,” added Dr. Goldberg.  
The leadership also introduced a comprehensive quality of care and medical audit program at St. Joe’s. The initiative set out clear expectations of physician charting and clinical standards that transformed the hospital’s reputation for delivering high-quality care.  

The result: Accreditation was achieved.  

Taking credit is challenging for Dr. Goldberg.  

“Other hospitals were headed towards the same direction too. I was merely drawing inspiration from hospitals across North America. To set up the dialysis program, a technician was sent to a hospital in Cleveland. For setting up a respirology unit, we studied the one at Montreal General Hospital.”  

As the chief of medicine for 20 years at St. Joe’s, his foresight was instrumental in creating an ecosystem that gradually established nephrology, respirology, and  behavioural medicine programs among others. His forever favourite, however, remained medicine “He loved his medicine the most,” his wife, Geraldine Goldberg, confirmed.  

Dr. Goldberg retired from his role as chief of medicine at St. Joe’s in 1981.  

Dr. Goldberg’s legacy extended well beyond the hospital walls. When McMaster University School of Medicine opened in 1969, St. Joe’s with its medicine, pediatric and psychiatric units served as the perfect training ground for aspiring physicians. His contributions also transcended time, much like the lessons that resonate today. As Dr. Madeleine Verhovsek, chief of medicine, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, notes, “The overarching lesson that we can all take away from him is, ‘The quality of care that you provide is the most important thing.”  

Dr. Goldberg, however, also acknowledges the mounting complexity behind that simple principle.  

“It’s harder to do a good job today. It was very simple in those days. Like building a chicken coop versus building a skyscraper,” reflected Dr. Goldberg.  

And Dr. Verhovsek echoes the sentiment.  

“Medicine has become increasingly complex, from the standpoints of diagnosis and treatment, as well as looking at the healthcare system. We need clinicians and leaders who can meet the current and future challenges head on.”  

It is Dr. Goldberg’s acuity that Dr. Alistair Ingram, former chief of medicine at St. Joes, deeply admires, “His intellectual vigour remains unfazed by the passage of time. When there were no fancy scans or tests, he ensured the highest quality of care was delivered.”  

Quality of care, the principle stemmed again from the defining belief, “It was the right thing to do.”  

And that was it.