Saskatchewan Hospital

Saskatchewan Hospital
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Geography
Location	Box 39, North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada
Organization
Care system	Public
Funding	Government of Saskatchewan
Type	Mental health
Network	Prairie North Health Region and Saskatchewan Health Authority
Services
Beds	284
History
Opened	2019
Links
Website	https://www.pnrha.ca/programs_services/Pages/Saskatchewan-Hospital---North-Battleford.aspx
Lists	Hospitals in Canada

Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford (SHNB) is a public psychiatric hospital in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. It is owned by the Government of Saskatchewan and operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. The facility has 284 beds in total, including a 96-bed secure unit for offenders with mental health needs.^[1] The new facility includes a number of modernizations to improve patient care, including:

• 32 more beds (an increase from 156 to 188),
• A "home-like" rather than institutional atmosphere,
• Scenic placement on the North Saskatchewan River with maximized views of nature from inside, and
• A cogeneration system to reduce its environmental footprint.^[2]

The project was announced in 2011^[3][4] and began construction in September 2015.^[5] It held its grand opening March 14, 2019.^[6]

The Government of Saskatchewan committed $407 million to the project, which covers design, construction, and 30 years of maintenance.^[7] Of this, approximately $222 million is attributable to construction.^[8] The project is proceeding as a public-private partnership (P3). Financial analysis by Ernst & Young indicated a P3 would save $90 million (18%) over the life of the project, versus a typical government-led project.^[9] Design, construction, and maintenance are the responsibility of a group named Access Prairies Partnership, led by Graham.^[10] The construction effort created more than 1,500 jobs in the province.^[11]

Original hospital[]

New SHNB under construction, July 2016

Built between 1911 and 1913, the facility in North Battleford was the first mental health hospital to be built in Saskatchewan, Canada.^[12] It had 156 beds.^[13] Prior to its establishment, patients were sent to hospitals in Manitoba. The first superintendent of the hospital was James Walter MacNeill. The number of patients peaked at over 4,000 in 1946; with the advent of community care throughout the province the number of patients in the facility had dropped to under 300 by 1980.^[14]

The original hospital is located at 1 Jersey Street in the North Battleford Crown Colony, a census subdivision adjacent to the City of North Battleford.^[15][16] The fate of the old facility is, as yet, unknown. The Government of Saskatchewan is accepting proposals for its future over summer 2019 and will make a decision thereafter.^[17]

References[]

External links[]

• Prairie North Health Region – Saskatchewan Hospital