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The Saskatchewan Hospital is a non-designated heritage property overlooking the North Saskatchewan River near the City of North Battleford. Located on 65 hectares of land, the property comprises a 34-building complex and features an 18,000 m2, three-storey, brick hospital completed in 1913. Located on landscaped grounds, the complex and grounds were designed to create a convalescent environment and includes stone walls, pathways and mature vegetation.
Designed by Toronto's architectural firm Darling and Pearson, it was the largest building in the province after the Legislative Building. Its design was influenced by innovative approaches to psychiatric care in both Canada and the United States. Built on a scenic spot overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, the buildings and grounds provided a tranquil, secluded, self-sufficient community where doctors, staff and patients lived and worked. It was once considered one of the finest institutions of its kind in Canada. The hospital ceased operations with the opening of a new facility on the same site in 2019.
The heritage value of the Saskatchewan Hospital resides in its association with the modernization of psychiatric care in Saskatchewan. Long-time superintendent, Dr. James MacNeill, brought a progressive approach to mental illness and patient care in Saskatchewan. MacNeill considered mental illness to be a treatable and curable medical condition and worked tirelessly towards its de-criminalization. In 1922, his efforts led the provincial government to de-criminalize insanity, legally redefining it as a medical condition.
The Saskatchewan Hospital is also associated with the development of Saskatchewan's Registered Psychiatric Nurses training program. Heritage value also lies in its architecture, which reflects a variety of traditional styles typically used in public institutions in the early 20th century, including Italianate, late Gothic Revival and Stripped Classical.
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