Sacred Heart Home When the new brick hospital was opened in 1925 the old wooden one was converted into a residence for the elderly named "Sacred Heart Home" and staffed by the Sisters of Saint Martha. Within a short time a hundred elderly people were living there. By the late 1950s the Fire Department ordered the closing of the third or top floor. Gradually it became evident that a new building was needed. In 1962, because of a successful diocesan financial campaign, a new four- storey brick structure was erected across the street, next door to the Charlottetown Hospital from which it got its heat and hot water. The new home had space for some 130 residents and its occupancy was almost always a hundred percent. From 1962 the financial operation of the Home was greatly supported by government assistance given to individual residents. Five years later the Sacred Heart Home was incorporated as a non-profit organization and came under the management of a Board of Governors. In February, 1995 the Board of Governors announced that the Sacred Heart Home was closing its doors in June of that year. A number of factors led to the Board's decision, the main one being financial due to extensive and very costly renovations required for the building. In addition there was a substantial reduction in government funding. About a hundred residents had to be relocated by the closure and this was done with a minimum of hardship although sadness was felt by many at the shutting down of this fine institution. The Sisters of Saint Martha deserve enormous credit for their 70 years of devoted service at the Sacred Heart Home. Much volunteer service was provided as well by the lay staff and by many others in providing a final home for large numbers of elderly people from across the Island. The Bureau In 1931 the Sisters of Saint Martha opened a Social Services Department at the Charlottetown Hospital to address the needs of the poor. One of the Department's first rate services was home care nursing, especially for mothers and infants, but also for the elderly. The Social Services Department moved to larger quarters on in 1943. Five years later it became known officially as the Catholic Social Welfare Bureau with a constitution and Board of Directors. Professional Health Care Institutions ♦ 23