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| June 19, 2006 | Back to List | Print this Page  | | Physician of the Century - Dr. Mary Percy Jackson | | |
Peace Country Health is proud to share in the celebration of the award named in the honour of Dr. Mary Percy Jackson for the over 45 years of service she provided to the Peace River region. In celebration of Alberta's 100th birthday the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons named Dr. Mary Percy Jackson the first of 100 recipients of the Physicians of the Century program. The award could not have gone to a more deserving and exemplary humanitarian and provider of health care, during a time when travel and resources were unbelievably difficult. Her perseverance and strength of character are what make her story so interesting.
The award announcement was made Thursday, February 3, 2005 to kick off the centennial of Organized Medicine celebrations. The award recognizes Dr. Jackson's pioneering accomplishments and dedication to the delivery of health services in the Peace Region, during a time when being a women doctors were rare.
Dr. Mary Percy Jackson was considered to be a living legend of her time. She graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1927 with degrees in surgery and medicine. In 1929, she answered an advertisement calling women doctors to Alberta. The Government of Alberta hired Dr. Jackson and three other British doctors in an attempt to provide better medical services in outlying areas. Dr. Jackson's intention when coming to Alberta was to only stay for one year, however her journey extended much farther and wider then she could have imagined.
Her first assignment was an orientation tour with a travelling medical clinic. Following the orientation Dr. Jackson was assigned to the territory of Battle River, a vast area covering 250 square miles that soon grew to nearly 400 square miles. The nearest medical aid was the town of Peace River, 120 kilometers to the south. It was connected with her territory by a dirt road, which was impassable in bad conditions. The only way that she could get around was on horseback.
One of the most remarkable qualities about Dr. Jackson and true representations of her strength of character and dedication to her profession was the fact that she provided health care during very trying conditions. Despite the fact that she had been practicing medicine under the best possible conditions in England, she persevered whatever weather and primitive conditions existed to provide the care that her patients needed. She would travel countless miles on horseback, on virtually unmarked trails, fording rivers and streams, enduring the 90°F heat, dust and mosquitoes of summer, and the extreme -40°F cold and complete isolation of winter.
Homesteading immigrants from Norway, Hungary, Russia, Germany, Ukraine and India, who could not speak much English, respectfully referred to Dr. Jackson as "doc".
In a typical week her caseload might include several fractured limbs or a broken back; a birth; cases of dysentery, pneumonia, smallpox, scarlet fever or tuberculosis; as well as the other illnesses expected in a family practice. As if this was not a huge workload she also performed tooth extractions, as there were no dentists in the area.
In 1931 she married rancher and fur trader Frank Jackson, a widower with three children, and moved to his homestead at Keg River, 500 miles northwest of Edmonton. At this time she was no longer under contract with the Provincial government, but continued her dedicated service as a general practitioner in the area, much of the time without payment.
She treated five generations of patients from all over the Peace region, and was universally loved and respected by all who knew her. She treated hundreds of the First Nations and Metis population, and developed many long-standing friendships with them. In 1975, she was named "Woman of the Year" by the Voice of Native Women.
In 1976, she was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Alberta and delivered the Convocation address. That same year, she and her husband were honoured by the Province of Alberta with an Alberta Achievement Award for outstanding service.
Dr. Jackson received the Alberta Centennial Medal and the Canadian Centennial Medal, and a school at the junction of the MacKenzie Highway and Keg River is named for her. She retired from active practice in 1975 and held senior membership in the Canadian Medical Association, senior life membership in the Alberta Medical Association, and a life membership in the College of Family Physicians.
Predeceased by her husband in 1979, Dr. Jackson had a son and a daughter, three stepsons, 25 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren. Dr. Jackson was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1983.
The life that Dr. Jackson led is one of example and admiration. Peace County Health is proud to say that she served the residents of our region and to have her as a symbol of the importance of continued rural health care delivery in our Province. We commend all Rural Health Care practitioners and recognize the exemplary work you do on behalf of our organization.
| | For more information, please contact: | | Deb Guerette | | Director Communications | | Peace Country Health | | 780.538.6180 | | deb.guerette@pchr.ca | | http://www.pchr.ca |
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