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Brief History...
The history of the Edith Cavell Medical Institute began in 1907 when a nursing college was established in a row of four houses in the former Rue de la Culture (now Rue Franz Merjay). The first director was Edith Cavell, a British nurse who had studied at the London Hospital. In 1914, a new clinic with 22 rooms was built at the corner of Rue Edith Cavell and Rue Marie Depage, along with a school and a home for nurses. On 12 October 1915, Edith Cavell was sentenced to death as a spy and executed by a German firing squad at the Tir National firing range.
Ten years later, in 1925, the Institute created a department for the development of nursing training. A maternity unit named the Chicago Pavilion opened in the same year. In 1937, the Queen Astrid Pavilion was built, raising the number of hospital beds in the institute to 120. In 1952, the Solvay Pavilion was added, increasing the number of beds to 170 and adding 30 paediatric beds. The original 1914 buildings were demolished in 1971 and the hospital embarked on a modernisation programme, leading in 1974 to the opening of the New Cavell in Rue Edith Cavell.
The Institute closed down in 1982 after being declared bankrupt, but reopened the following year. The rescue operation was led by Dr Wynen, who encouraged a group of doctors and nurses to save the institute. The Cavell Institute received further support from Brussels Free University (ULB) and Uccle municipality.
In 1987, the Edith Cavell Medical Institute merged with the Lambermont clinic and maternity unit. The Chicago Pavilion was demolished the following year, and 11 new operating theatres were added in 1989. A new development plan was launched in 1996 by Dr Bogaerts, Dr Goffin and Mr Therasse with the aim of forging links with other institutions. The Institute welcomed a new team of doctors from the Square Marie Louise Clinic and opened the Europe-Lambermont Medical Centre. Two years later, the Institute merged with the New Basilique Clinic in northern Brussels and the Leopold Park Clinic in the European Quarter.
In 2000, the Edith Cavell Inter-regional Hospital Centre (CHIREC) was founded as a registered charity. CHIREC now coordinates the activities of six private hospitals located in Brussels and Wallonia: the Edith Cavell Clinic, the Europe-Lambermont Medical Centre, the
Leopold Park Clinic, the Basilique Clinic, the Braine l’Alleud –Waterloo Hospital and the Bois de la Pierre Polyclinic in Wavre.
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