Name the New Long-Term Care Home at Finch Avenue E After
Bernice Redmon
Toronto is building a new long-term care home at 4610 Finch Avenue East, and Councillor Myers is calling for it to be named in honour of Bernice Redmon — a trailblazing Black Canadian nurse who broke racial barriers in health care.
Born in Toronto in 1917, Bernice Redmon was denied admission to Canadian nursing schools because of her race. She pursued her training in the United States, graduating from St. Phillip Hospital Medical College in Virginia in 1945. Returning to Canada, she became the first Black public health nurse in the country and the first Black nurse appointed to the Victorian Order of Nurses.
Naming this home the Bernice Redmon Long-Term Care Home would celebrate her courage, compassion, and legacy — and remind future generations that determination and care can break barriers and build a more equitable Toronto.