Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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|Title= Seacliff Lunatic Asylum
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|Title= Provincial Hospital for the Insane Ponoka
|Image= SeacliffHospital-1942.jpg
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|Body= The Central Otago Gold Rush in the 1860′s brought about a huge expansion of the Dunedin area of New Zealand. The local asylum at the time became severely overcrowded, and it became clear that another facility was necessary. In 1877, the central government supported plans to build a new farm asylum, and construction began 20 miles north of Dunedin on the eastern coast of the South Island. The dense forest provided a serene location, but the Director of the Geological Survey declared the site to be unsafe to build the asylum. The surrounding hillside was known to be unstable, and concerns were raised over what that would mean to the operation of the asylum. Despite such concerns, the building went ahead, and by 1884, all of the patients from the local asylum were transferred to Seacliff Lunatic Asylum.
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|Body= Before Alberta existed as a Canadian province, citizens of the North-West Territories deemed to suffer from mental illness were sent to an asylum in Brandon, Manitoba for treatment. However, in 1908, it became clear that the burgeoning population (alongside a growing number of psychiatric patients and "mental defectives") meant that a new institution must be built. The provincial government began constructing Alberta's first mental health institution in Ponoka. The site was deliberately chosen as a rural area - medical advice of the day required fresh air and immersion in nature as remedies for troubled minds. The hospital was also self-sustaining, using gardens to supply its own food. The hospital officially opened in 1911 as the Alberta Hospital for the Insane, and construction finished in 1912.
  
The building was designed by Robert Arthur Lawson, and it was modelled on the Scottish baronial style, which Lawson frequently used in his designs. He was also renowned for his range of work in the Gothic Revival style, and he combined both aspects to the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum. With turrets and corbles on every corner, large towers and a spire, the building contained four and a half million bricks (made from local clay.) The great central tower was 50 metres in height, and overlooked the hospital as an observation tower, in case patients attempted to riot or escape. The asylum was built initially to accommodate 500 patients and 50 members of staff, and cost £78,000 to construct.  [[Seacliff Lunatic Asylum|Click here for more...]]
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During the early and mid-twentieth century, this institution was the primary mental health institution of the province. When the hospital first opened, very few nurses worked there, with little knowledge of psychiatric nursing. However, when Dr. Baragar was appointed Acting Superintendent of the hospital, he also established a nursing school. Dr. Baragar, a psychiatrist from Brandon Mental Hospital, strongly felt that nursing care of "the complexities of the mind" should be a profession in its own right.  [[Provincial Hospital for the Insane Ponoka|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 05:41, 28 November 2021

Featured Article Of The Week

Provincial Hospital for the Insane Ponoka


ponoka16.png

Before Alberta existed as a Canadian province, citizens of the North-West Territories deemed to suffer from mental illness were sent to an asylum in Brandon, Manitoba for treatment. However, in 1908, it became clear that the burgeoning population (alongside a growing number of psychiatric patients and "mental defectives") meant that a new institution must be built. The provincial government began constructing Alberta's first mental health institution in Ponoka. The site was deliberately chosen as a rural area - medical advice of the day required fresh air and immersion in nature as remedies for troubled minds. The hospital was also self-sustaining, using gardens to supply its own food. The hospital officially opened in 1911 as the Alberta Hospital for the Insane, and construction finished in 1912.

During the early and mid-twentieth century, this institution was the primary mental health institution of the province. When the hospital first opened, very few nurses worked there, with little knowledge of psychiatric nursing. However, when Dr. Baragar was appointed Acting Superintendent of the hospital, he also established a nursing school. Dr. Baragar, a psychiatrist from Brandon Mental Hospital, strongly felt that nursing care of "the complexities of the mind" should be a profession in its own right. Click here for more...