Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (French: Waypoint Centre de soins de santé mentale) formerly known as Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene, is a 301-bed psychiatric hospital located on Georgian Bay in the Town of Penetanguishene, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Toronto. Waypoint provides both acute and longer-term psychiatric inpatient and outpatient services to Simcoe County, Dufferin County and Muskoka/Parry Sound. In addition, Waypoint provides the province's only high secure forensic hospital for clients served by both the mental health and justice systems. In the 1960s the hospital began to treat patients such as Peter Woodcock with LSD (otherwise known as 'acid'),[1] another form of treatment included the STU program.
| Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada |
| Organization | |
| Care system | Public Medicare (Canada) (OHIP) |
| Type | Specialist |
| Services | |
| Beds | 301 |
| Specialty | Psychiatric hospital |
| History | |
| Opened | 15 August 1904 |
| Links | |
| Website | Official website |
| Lists | Hospitals in Canada |
Oak Ridge new building
editBuilt in 1933 on the site of an old British military garrison, the Oak Ridge "Criminal Insane Building" (generally referred to as the "New Building") served as a forensic mental health care unit for Penetanguishene[2] for 81 years. Starting on February 21, 1933, with 152 beds it was doubled in size in 1957 and eventually demolished in 2014.[3] (44°48′01″N 79°55′34″W / 44.80041°N 79.92606°W) Under Dr. Elliot Thompson Barker and Dr. Gary J. Maier, the psychiatric centre was notorious for torture and use of LSD that led to its closure.[4][5]
Current status
editThe Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care has remodeled itself in current years, further updating the prison. The prison currently has more than 1,200 workers.[6] Forty percent of these workers work part-time.[6]
Notable patients
edit- Jeffrey Arenburg (1956-2017), murderer of Brian Smith; released in 2006
- Russell Maurice Johnson (born 1947), serial killer
- Mathew Charles Lamb (1948-1976), spree killer; was incarcerated for 7 years; released in 1973.
- Peter Woodcock (1939-2010), serial killer and rapist
Notable staff
edit- Wayne G. King (born 1951), ice hockey winger; worked as a security guard and mental health worker
- Vernon Quinsey (born 1944), psychologist
References
edit- ^ "The Oak Ridge Program · Treatment · Remembering Oak Ridge". historyexhibit.waypointcentre.ca. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
- ^ Christina Bernardo (February 27, 2009). "Penetang's Oak Ridge being replaced". Barrie Examiner. Sun Media. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- ^ "Remembering Oak Ridge Digital Archive and Exhibit".
- ^ Michelle McQuigge (June 8, 2017). "Treatment at Ontario mental health facility was 'torture', judge finds". The Canadian Press. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Sean Fine (June 7, 2017). "Doctors tortured patients at Ontario mental-health centre, judge rules". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ a b "Critical Safety issues at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care". OPSEU. Retrieved 2019-07-26.