Critical Care
On the Battlefield and Around the World

The Story of the Canadian Forces Health Services

The Canadian War Museum 2004 Summer Exhibition, June 29 to September 6, 2004

Critical Care Courtyard exhibition with the Canadian Forces

This year marks the centennial of the Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS), the medical branch of the Canadian Forces. The exhibition Critical Care: On the Battlefield and Around the World tells the story of Canadian military medical personnel, including dentists, doctors, nurses, and other health services professionals, who operate behind the scenes but play a vital role in successful military operations. The exhibition presents a 100-year perspective on the human experience and accomplishments of these people in peace and war, in Canada, and overseas.

"The motto of the Canadian Forces Medical Services is 'militia succurimus' which means 'we hasten to support the soldier'. This exhibition will demonstrate how the men and women of the Canadian Forces Medical Services, and the Canadian Forces Health Services, have lived up to this noble calling throughout our history," said Col. Scott Cameron, CF Surgeon General.

The Canadian War Museum exhibition Critical Care consists of two related components: the General Motors Courtyard focuses on today's operations Around the World, and the Third Floor Gallery features a historical look at military medicine On the Battlefield.

Critical Care Around the World: General Motors Courtyard

During the months of July and August, the Canadian Forces Health Services will present a variety of different exhibitions. The displays will be staffed by currently serving personnel, who will talk to visitors about their recent experiences and explain the use of their equipment:

Battlefield Medicine: June 29 - August 2

Canadian Forces Health Services field personnel will host an exhibition focused on battlefield medicine, which showcases a mobile Unit Medical Station, a Light Support Vehicle Wheeled ambulance, and an armoured Bison ambulance.

Dental Services truck-mounted mobile clinic

Dental Services: July 20 - August 14 (in addition to Battlefield Medicine)

Visit the dentist! Canadian Forces Health Services dental services will showcase their equipment. A truck-mounted mobile dental clinic, the Dental Special Equipment Vehicle, is a fully functional dental operatory capable of treating all but the most serious cases.

Field Hospital: August 4 - September 6 (in addition to Dental Services)

In August, the Courtyard exhibition will focus on the field hospital support capabilities of all three branches of the Canadian Forces. Inspect aeromedical evacuation equipment; learn about aviation medicine, and how patients are transported. The exhibition will also include a mobile operating room, resuscitation bay, intensive care ward and critical care ward.

Critical Care On the Battlefield: Canadian War Museum Third Floor Gallery

In this gallery, you will learn about Canadian military medicine through the course of three major high intensity conflicts of the last century - the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War. A chronological exhibition of photographs and artworks, from the National Archives, the Canadian War Museum Photo Collection and the Canadian War Museum's Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, will demonstrate how medical services cared for the wounded in all three conflicts. It will show that while the process remained essentially the same in all three conflicts, there were also critical improvements that advanced survival rates. You will see images of medics at work on the battlefield, ambulances transporting wounded to care, special surgical teams and nursing sisters at work, and soldiers recuperating well behind the lines.

Effective military medicine depends on the seamless integration of facilities and highly-trained medical professionals under demanding conditions. Via a network of facilities including Forward Aid Posts and Field Hospitals, Casualty Clearing Stations, and General Hospitals, the people who operate behind the scenes play a vital role in making military and peacekeeping operations successful. Over the years, this system has enabled the vast majority of Canadian wounded who reach care to survive: 89% in the First World War, 94% in the Second World War, and 97% in the Korean War. Casualty survival rates increased due to advances in medical technology, such as the introduction of immediate blood transfusion in the Second World War, and achieve faster evacuation times in the Korean War.

The exhibition will give you a sense of the stressful and dramatic conditions under which medical personnel worked, the nature of the methods by which the wounded were cared for, and some insight into the nature of the care they received. Important distinctions between the eras will be explained by the accompanying text. The exhibition also includes a bilingual touch-screen video station, which will present a brief overview of Canadian military medicine, developed by the Department of National Defence.

Canadian military medicine was, and remains, an important presence in all Canadian military operations and has been a key factor in mitigating the death and suffering that are an inevitable component of conflict.