Alberta Hospital Edmonton is a

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psy ...

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

operating under the governance of

Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta is the single health authority for the Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. AHS delivers medical care on be ...

. It is located in the northeastern portion of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, Canada, and was founded on July 1, 1923. The site is serviced by

Edmonton Transit Service The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In , the system h ...

bus route 121. Admission and continuing treatment at Alberta Hospital Edmonton can be voluntary, formal under the

Mental Health Act Mental Health Act is a stock short title used for legislation relating to mental health law. List Canada * Mental Health Act (Ontario) (Ontario) India *The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 Ireland *The Mental Health Act 2001 New Zealand *The Mental ...

, or in the Forensic Psychiatry Program under the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

. Referral agents include physicians, mental health professionals, other health care facilities, community agencies, courts, corrections, police, and family, in addition to self-referral. Each Alberta Hospital Edmonton program has an

inpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health car ...

and a community component. Interdisciplinary teams are made up of program managers,

psychiatrists A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

psychologists A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

, psychometrists,

nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

, psychiatric aides,

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

s, occupational therapists, recreation therapists, physiotherapists, therapy assistants, counselors,

pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

, dietitians, chaplains and support staff.

History

Grand Opening

*Opened Sunday, July 1, 1923, as the "Provincial Mental Institute, Oliver". For many years, it was a World War I veterans hospital. The first 47 patients arrived in the summer of 1923 from the "Hospital for Returned Soldiers" (later known as Michener Centre) in

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

. All 47 patients were veterans of World War I who were mostly suffering from "shell shock," now known as

Post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

(PTSD). The first physician caring for these veterans was Captain Dr. David L. Dick. He served with the Royal Army Medical Corps 142nd Field Ambulance in 1915-16 on the Western Front. In 1917, he was transferred to the Canadian Expeditionary Force and became Resident Medical Officer for the Strathcona Military Hospital, Edmonton. *The Grand Opening was a significant event as these were veterans and the official hostess of the occasion was Bridget Velma Henderson, niece of Premier Herbert Greenfield, who later married World War I flying ace Stanley A. Puffer of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. At the Grand Opening, luminaries in attendance included: ** Dick Reid. the Minister of Health **

Archie Matheson Archibald Malcolm (Archie) Matheson was a Canadian politician who represented Vegreville in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 until 1935. He was elected in the 1921 election and re-elected in 1926 and 1930 as a member of the Unite ...

, the MLA from Vegreville **

John Edward Brownlee John Edward Brownlee, (August 27, 1883 – July 15, 1961) was the fifth premier of Alberta, serving from 1925 until 1934. Born in Port Ryerse, Ontario, he studied history and political science at the University of Toronto's Victoria College ...

, the Attorney-General

Recent History

In August 2009,

announced that it will be closing 106 of the 410 beds at the hospital. The AUPE has been strongly opposed to the closures and have staged many protests and have made several television commercials at an attempt to gain support.

Buildings

There are 45 buildings at AHE spread over .Abercrombie, Sheila. ''Alberta Hospital Edmonton, 1923 to 1983: An Outline of History to Commemorate the 60th Anniversary''. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Hospital Edmonton, 71p., 1983 The buildings on the site were named numerically in the order in which they were built originally but now the order has no relevance. 1 Building Alberta Hospital building 1 10

*Originally the first dormitory *contained the apparel shop and Highwood School until closed in 2006 2 Building *Remains standing, but unused. It used to be a supplementary dormitory where numerous patients were also treated. Old 3 Building *Contained 2 units 3B and 3C *Demolished and replaced with current 3 building 3 Building *Helen Hunley Forensic Pavilion *Contains

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

and CT scanning equipment *Dorran Auditorium *Pool and gymnasium 4 Building *Original building demolished, new building used as new food services which replaces old 17 building *formerly held patients; following closure for patient care, became a dormitory for staff 5 Building *Rose Sinclair Pavilion *Not in use but still standing. Used to be the old Forensic Pavilion until Forensic Psychiatric Services moved to the now 3 Building. 6 Building *Laundry 7 Building *Woodwork shop *Unused as building is condemned 8 Building *Rachel H. Young Pavilion *Contains Rehabilitation units; including the Specialized Treatment, Assessment and Rehabilitation Services (S.T.A.R.S.) *Contains Budz Bistro (coffee shop run by patients as part of a patient program, but is now not in operation) 9 Building Alberta Hospital building 9 10

*Contains library, pharmacy, pastoral/spiritual care, AV and computer lab *Contains Central Services, Highwood School and Apparel Shop *Contains Provincial Protective Services Communications Center *Contains the Parking Call Centre for Alberta Health Services. 10 Building *AD MacPherson Pavilion *Houses Admitting and is part of the Adult Psychiatric Program. *Contains 4 separate adult psychiatry units: unit 10-1, 10-1A, 10-2, and 10-2A *unit 10-1 is an adult psychiatric intensive care unit 11 Building *Cottonwood *Remains standing but unused 12 Building *AR Schrag * ECT therapy *

Geriatric Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...

units used to reside here however have been moved to Villa Caritas. * Now has a young adults unit (12A) and the adult day hospital on the main floor of the building * During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, adult acute psychiatry programs from the Royal Alexandria and University of Alberta Hospitals were redeployed to the upstairs floor of 12 building (units 12B and 12C) to accommodate COVID-19 units at their respective hospitals. At present, the University of Alberta adult acute psychiatry program resides in 12B&C 14 Building * Now demolished and replaced by a new Food Services building. 15 Building Alberta Hospital admin building 10

*Administration and HR 16 Building *Used to function as a Fire Hall when AHE had its own fire department, but has been since converted into a car wash, framing shop and bottle depot. 16 Building is run by staff but staffed by patients, who are taking part in patient programs. 17 Building *Food and Nutrition Services, decommissioned for patient foods and replaced with new building 4 but maintained the cafeteria area. *Sunshine Cafe 18 Building *Power plant 19 Building *Facilities management offices 20 Building *Greenhouse and RSVP gift shop *Originally patients were paid a small stipend for working in the greenhouse. However, this is no longer funded. In March 2016 a fire broke out and the building has sustained severe damage and is to be demolished. Temp greenhouse has been erected. 21 Building *Stores/Receiving *Patient Transportation *Regional Surplus Cameron Hall *Demolished Water Tower *Due to its height, this structure is visible throughout the Alberta Hospital site and to the outlining area.

Programs

*Adult psychiatry (Ages 18–65) **CLiP (The Community Living Program) provides support to psychiatric patients within the community upon discharge from the hospital *The Northern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Program *Young Adults Acute Unit

Notable patients

Allyson McConnell Allyson McConnell (née Meagher, November 1978 – September 2013) was an Australian resident in Millet, Alberta, Canada who, in 2010, killed her sons by drowning them in a bathtub. She was convicted of manslaughter and deported to Australia. An ap ...

(Australian woman who killed her two children in

Millet, Alberta Millet is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Alberta's capital city of Edmonton. History The Town of Millet was named in honour of August Millet, who was believed to be a canoeist for Father Lacombe. (Another poss ...

)

References

*Alberta Hospital Edmonton 1923-1983, Published by AHE, Printed by ABC Press 1979 Ltd. {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1923 Psychiatric hospitals in Canada Hospitals in Edmonton Hospitals established in 1923 1923 establishments in Alberta