Merritt Henderson joined South Peel Hospital in April 1958, just weeks before the first patient was admitted.

A chartered accountant, he was hired by Administrator Ray Copeland as office manager and accountant, charged with acquiring staff and equipment.

“I was delighted to learn that the new facility was paid for, fully,” he says, adding that he was less happy to learn there was no operating capital. “Each month brought the challenge of deciding which bills would be paid.” It was a situation that Henderson quickly rectified; for the next 35 years, the hospital annually balanced its budget and set aside funds for future development.

Widely admired for the leadership style that allowed people to flourish, he believed in an “open door” policy.

“It was important for me to communicate with the staff face-to-face so that they knew who I was and I knew who they were. I could sense the atmosphere in the hospital as I walked around, talking with the nurses, the doctors and some of the patients. I also chose to keep in touch with the staff in open forums where I had to field a lot of tough questions –- often tougher than those posed at the Board meetings.”

To realize his vision –- the best possible community hospital -– Merritt Henderson hired the best people he could, told them what the job was and let them get on with it.

“I wanted our patients to feel they were in good hands with us. No one wants to be in a hospital, but, if that’s where they had to be, then it needed to serve them well.”

Just before Merritt Henderson’s retirement in 1994, The Mississauga Hospital was awarded a four-year accreditation by the Canadian Committee on Health Facilities Accreditation (CCHFA), an honour reserved for just three hospitals across Canada that year.

The CCHFA official who presented the award said “this award isn’t presented just because there haven’t been any mistakes. There has to be innovation, vision and leadership involved. It’s the ‘walk on water’ award.”