Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford: Integrating cultural and therapeutic needs

The Province of Saskatchewan replaced the century-old Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford (SHNB) with a new integrated mental health and correctional facility, addressing both psychiatric care and forensic needs within one environment.

This hybrid model balances healing and wellness with safety and security, providing a solution to complex provincial challenges. Patients, clinical and administrative stakeholders, and First Nations Elders were engaged to ensure cultural and therapeutic needs were reflected in the facility’s design.

Evidence-based design principles and LEAN processes informed the planning, creating non-institutional spaces that support efficiency, security, and dignity. Bright, open therapeutic areas, private patient rooms, and abundant natural light promote wellness, while safety is reinforced through clear sightlines and anti-barricade, anti-ligature, and tamper-resistant fixtures. Separate circulation routes ensure efficient and secure interaction between clinical and correctional areas.

The facility integrates culturally significant spaces, including an Indigenous sweat lodge and smudge room with special ventilation and First Nations symbols embedded in floor patterns to support ceremony and healing. Nature also plays a vital role with enclosed courtyards extending therapeutic areas outdoors, while materials reflect the surrounding prairies and rolling hills to create a strong sense of place.

By combining human-centric therapeutic services with robust safety measures, the SHNB establishes an environment that feels more like a functional home than an institution. It enables multidisciplinary teams to deliver holistic psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation, helping patients build skills, increase autonomy, and improve quality of life while reducing the stigma of mental illness.