Throughout our history, Women's College Hospital has been at the forefront of innovation in women’s health care, research and education. From our beginnings in 1883 as the Woman’s Medical College – the first in Canada to allow women doctors to practice medicine – our Hospital has been a pioneer.

1947	Pap Test - Women’s College collaborates in the development of the Pap Test for detecting early symptoms of cancer, particularly of the cervix
1948	Cancer Detection Clinic opens at WCH - the first of its kind in Ontario, it pioneered the practice of screening healthy women for early signs of cancer (renamed Health Watch in 1994)
1963	Mammography - WCH is the first hospital in Ontario to use mammography as a diagnostic tool to detect breast cancer
1971	Tri-Hospital Diabetes Education Centre (TRIDEC) opens - the first comprehensive teaching program for people with diabetes in Canada
1971	Perinatal Intensive Care Unit opens - the first in Canada
1973	Bay Centre for Birth Control opens - the first hospital-supported "walk-in" centre
1976	Psoriasis Education and Research Centre opens - the first centre in Canada to place emphasis on self-care treatment
1981	Perinatal Intensive Care Unit was declared the Regional High-Risk Pregnancy Unit - the first of its kind in Canada
1984	Sexual Assault Care Centre opens - the first regional centre in Ontario
1987	Urgent Care Centre opens - the first of its kind in Ontario
1987	Brief Psychotherapy Centre for Women opens - the first hospital-based therapy program in Canada
1988	Test-tube quintuplets delivered at Women’s College - the first in Canada
1991	Ricky Kanee Schachter Dermatology Centre opens - marking a new era in Women’s College's leading dermatological research, education and patient care
1991	U of T Jessie Gray Colorectal Clinic opens - the first of its kind in Toronto
1994	Osteoporosis Clinic opens - the first multidisciplinary clinic of its kind in Canada
1995	WCH is designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Women's Health - the first in this hemisphere
1996	Women's Cardiovascular Health Initiative established - the first in Canada
2000	Consumer health information website www.womenshealthmatters.ca launches
2003	SARS Assessment Clinic opens (Women's College ACC) - the first in Canada
2005	The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announces plans to make Women's College Hospital a self-governed institution once more
2006	Women's Health Matters Forum & Expo celebrates its 10th year with 20,000 attendees
2006	The New Women's College Hospital begins operating independently under the Public Hospitals Act, Ontario’s first and only academic ambulatory care hospital and the province’s only hospital with a primary focus on women’s health