Helen Ross was born in 1892 in Burford, Ontario. She studied art at Moulton College in Toronto before her family moved to Wynyard, Saskatchewan in 1911. She was engaged to Dr. Robert George Ferguson from 1912 until their wedding on July 5, 1916. During their engagement she trained to be a nurse at the Winnipeg General Hospital but contracted scarlet fever, diphtheria, and pneumonia towards the end of her third year and had to discontinue her training (1912-1915). After their wedding, the pair resided at the Fort San Sanatorium. After his retirement, they moved to Balfour Apartments in Regina while still summering at a cottage on Echo Lake near Fort San. Helen is remembered as an artist and for her ability to remember names, accompanying her husband as he visiting patients in the sanatorium. Helen lived past her 89th year.

Dr. Ferguson graduated from the Manitoba Medical School in 1916, while in medical school he interned under Dr. Steward a the Ninette Sanatorium. Dr. Ferguson was appointed Medical Superintendent of the Fort San Sanatorium in 1917 and retired from the League in 1948. During this time he resided at Fort San with his wife Helen and their 7 children.

The "Great White Plague" was the name used to describe tuberculosis. To fight the highly contagious disease the Saskatchewan Anti-Tuberculosis League was formed in 1911. Under its auspices Fort Qu'Appelle Sanatorium, was opened in 1917 to provide rest and fresh air. But the cure was long and tedious; few could afford to remain until they were healed. So in 1929, through the League's urging, Saskatchewan was the first province to make the care and treatment of tuberculosis free of charge. In 1987, with the closure of the sanatoriums, the League is reorganized into the Saskatchewan Lung Association.