Clinic History

The Movement Disorder Clinic operates out of a designated heritage building on the south-east corner of Deer Lodge Centre grounds. The building is named the “Women’s Tribute Memorial Lodge”. The Women’s Tribute Memorial Lodge was originally built by Winnipeg architects George W. Northwood and Cyril W. U. Chivers in 1931 using funds from the Women of Manitoba, the building was built as a tribute to soldiers of the First World War.

The building originally contained billiard tables, a kitchenette and a lounge on the first floor. The second floor had 18-foot ceilings and large windows from above, it contained a memorial for the soldiers of the First World War, named the “Room of Silence” and an auditorium. The second floor was accessible to veterans confined to a wheelchair using the wheelchair ramp. This wheelchair ramp continues to exist today and is the oldest known wheelchair ramp in Manitoba. The auditorium on the second floor contained a large stage with oak flooring and floodlights. The last time the stage was used was for a movie starring Patrick Swazye. Unfortunately, the Women’s Tribute Memorial Lodge Building was expensive to maintain and the occupants, the Valour Road Legion, vacated the building in 1986.

In 2002, Doug Hobson, a Winnipeg Neurologist, submitted a proposal to develop a multidisciplinary clinic for patients with movement disorders. The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, the Deer Lodge Foundation, and the federal and provincial governments, in favour of developing this clinic decided to fund the renovation of the Women’s Tribute Memorial Lodge Building so that it could be used for the new Movement Disorder Clinic. Cohlmeyer Architects oversaw the design of the renovations and expansion of the building to make it suitable for clinic use. Including the addition of an elevator, as the old wheelchair ramp is too steep for patient use. The Movement Disorder Clinic opened in 2006 and has been providing specialized services to patients with Movement Disorders since that time.