Time capsule taken out of ENH
May 24—On Nov. 17, 1981 a time capsule was placed in the outer wall of Eastern Niagara Hospital to be opened in 2031.
That was the plan, anyway.
But due to ENH closing its doors on June 17, hospital leadership determined now was the time to remove it, said Community Relations Director Patricia Brandt.
Those attending Tuesday's opening included former Mayor Tom Rotunda's wife and daughters and Joanna Bennett, formerly Trombley, who was 8 years old and present when the copper box was placed in the wall.
Bennett said that her name was picked out of a box that held the names of students who were signed up by their parents to witness the placement of the box.
Today she is employed at General Motors, is a former firefighter and EMT with Wright's Corners Volunteer Fire Company and has volunteered as a candy striper, as well as in the emergency room for ENH, and at the Reflections drug rehab program while going to school for social services.
"I got married, I had children and grandchildren," she said.
An interesting bit of history for medical buffs is that within the box were 10 slides of illnesses that those in the '80s hoped would be cured, or at least controlled 50 years later.
Eastern Niagara Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Slate read off the diseases. Four different strains of leukemia, carcinoma of the esophagus, the lung and the bladder, heart attacks, gonorrhea and sickle cell anemia.
Slate said that while leukemia is still uncured, advancements have been made to extend the life of those suffering, particularly children. He also announced that because of genetic research, sickle cell anemia has been cured.
"They were able to edit the genes to make the hemoglobin molecule back to normal," he said after the ceremony. "(Before) they were all different shaped and caused ischemia — they cause lack of oxygen to whatever tissue that is and causes pain."
Other items in the box included medical equipment and supplies, a sonogram and a box of birth control pills.
