{"id":9652,"date":"2026-04-16T19:53:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/mental-health-and-addictions-centre-introduces-new-facility-care-model-in-st-johns-newfoundland-healthcare-design-magazine\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T19:53:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T19:53:01","slug":"mental-health-and-addictions-centre-introduces-new-facility-care-model-in-st-johns-newfoundland-healthcare-design-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/16\/mental-health-and-addictions-centre-introduces-new-facility-care-model-in-st-johns-newfoundland-healthcare-design-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health And Addictions Centre Introduces New Facility, Care Model In St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland – Healthcare Design Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

After 170 years, Waterford Hospital in St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland, was operating in an outdated facility with an antiquated model of care where mental illness was heavily stigmatized and hidden away behind imposing brick walls. When provincial health authority Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Health Services decided to replace the 1850s-era facility, project leaders knew that simply erecting a new building wouldn\u2019t be enough. The entire philosophy of care had to undergo a fundamental transformation.
Opened in spring 2025, the new Mental Health and Addictions Centre<\/a> (MHAC) in St. John\u2019s achieves this vision by bringing behavioral health treatment out into the open. Designed by B+H Architects<\/a> (Toronto), the 240,000-square-foot facility embraces a recovery-focused, person-centered model. To help change the community mindset around mental health, the design team focused on creating a secure environment that feels open and welcoming for inpatient and outpatient services. \u201cIt was really important to us to break down that division between hospital and community,\u201d says Allison Winter, regional director for mental health and addiction services at NL Health Services and senior systems transformation consultant for the project.
The 6-story MHAC is organized with outpatient services, including a pharmacy and psychiatry and psychology offices, on the first floor. Floors 1-4 house 102 private inpatient beds distributed across designated adult acute, geriatric, and forensic units. Additionally, the fifth floor provides a hostel for families visiting patients, topped by a mechanical penthouse.
To bridge the transition between inpatient and outpatient services, the project team introduced a \u201ctherapeutic mall\u201d strategy for services. Concentrated on the facility\u2019s second floor, this zone incorporates everyday life activities directly into the patient care journey.
Along this corridor, patients can shop for clothes, get a haircut at the salon, grow plants in a horticulture studio, practice musical instruments, and create art. \u201cIt\u2019s the therapeutic heart of the facility, where patients, staff, and visitors can interact in a safe way that mirrors everyday interactions, like on a Main Street, and build their skills, autonomy, and confidence,\u201d says Michele Cohen, healthcare principal at B+H Architects.
Providing patients with dignity and a sense of independence required a careful balance with the principles of harm reduction and security. The design team implemented a hierarchy of safety features to ensure the environment remains therapeutic yet secure. \u201cIt\u2019s all very controlled,\u201d says David Stavros, senior design principal at B+H Architects. \u201cPatient access is continuously managed based on required level of care and personalized risk assessments.\u201d This is facilitated through designated patient elevators and corridors, sally-port entrances and exits in the forensic unit, and wearable patient armbands that serve as secure room keys while tracking location within the facility.
Because of this tiered security approach, the therapy mall is utilized strategically rather than indiscriminately. \u201cIt\u2019s a graduated, purposeful part of the clinical care,\u201d Cohen says. \u201cAt the early stages of their treatment, patients can access those services only when accompanied by staff.\u201d
As patients progress in their recovery journeys and gain independence, they are granted unsupervised access to the therapy spaces on Main Street, monitored by staff at nurses\u2019 stations. Eventually, patients may also be cleared to access the first-floor outpatient and public spaces independently. \u201cIt\u2019s ultimately the staff\u2019s decision, but the patient also has a say in how ready they are to be integrated into these spaces,\u201d Cohen says. \u201cThey have some freedom to go at their own pace as they feel comfortable. I think that\u2019s what is so unique about this facility.\u201d
Location: St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Completion date: October 2024
Owner: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Eastern Regional Health Authority
Total building area: 240,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $240.9 million
Cost\/sq. ft.: $1,004\/sq. ft.
Architect: B+H Architects, John Hearn Architects
Consortium: Avalon Healthcare Partnership (Plenary Americas, Marco\/Cahill Mental Health Partnership, B+H, and Cahill Facility Management Ltd.)
Interior designer: B+H Architects
Engineer: Smith + Anderson
Design-Builder: Marco\/Cahill Mental Health Partnership
Developer & Equity Investor: Plenary Americas
Facility Management Services: Cahill Facility Management Ltd.
Sustainability Consultant: Footprint
Certification: LEED Gold
Project details are provided by the design team and not vetted by\u00a0Healthcare Design<\/em>.
Posted In: Projects<\/a>
Editorial Staff<\/strong>
Anne DiNardo, Editor-in-Chief<\/strong>
[email protected]<\/span><\/a><\/strong>
April Shernisky, Executive Editor<\/strong>
[email protected]<\/span><\/a><\/strong>
Robert McCune, Senior Editor<\/strong>
[email protected]<\/span><\/a><\/strong>
Social:
Editorial Staff<\/strong>
Anne DiNardo, Editor-in-Chief
<\/strong>513.717.1156
[email protected]<\/span><\/a><\/strong>
Robert McCune, Senior Editor
<\/strong>330.968.6959
[email protected]<\/span><\/a><\/strong>
ABOUT<\/a>CAREERS<\/a>AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS<\/a>EVENT STANDARDS OF CONDUCT<\/a>Your Privacy Choices<\/a>TERMS OF USE<\/a>PRIVACY POLICY<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After 170 years, Waterford Hospital in St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland, was operating in an outdated facility with an antiquated model of care where mental illness was heavily stigmatized and hidden away behind imposing brick walls. When provincial health authority Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Health Services decided to replace the 1850s-era facility, project leaders knew that simply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}