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Archival description
Only top-level descriptions Woodlands School (New Westminster, B.C.) New Westminster (B.C.)
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Riverview Hospital historical collection

  • Collection
  • 1872-2008

This series consists of a variety of records created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1872 to 2008. Records relate to the administration and operation of Riverview Hospital and related mental health facilities at the Essondale site in Coquitlam, as well as other facilities across the province. These mental health institutions include: Victoria Asylum, New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School, Tranquille and other medical facilities.

The names and administrative structure of these institutions changed over time. Mental health functions were originally part of the Provincial Secretary’s mandate; they were transferred to Mental Health Services when it was created in 1950.

These government records were collected by the Riverview Historical Society and include a wide variety of subject matter and media. This includes subjects such as: early development of the Essondale lands and Colony Farm; the construction and expansion of the facility; admissions, transfers, and discharges of patients; administration of patient care; administration of therapy programs; patient and staff recreation; staff and nurse training; operation of the audiovisual department; library services; research into new medical and therapeutic practices; research by staff regarding mental health practices at Riverview and further afield; community involvement; volunteer activity; policy development; the redevelopment of the Riverview lands; general administration; and, administration of other services at the site such as postal, food, laundry, banking, transportation and safety services.

The collection has been arranged into the following series based on record types:

GR-3924 - record books
GR-3925 - operational records
GR-3926 - newsletters
GR-3927 - photographs and other graphic material
GR-3928 - films and videos

Classified as 20000-20 in Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) schedule 144007.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Woodlands record books

  • GR-3729
  • Series
  • 1908-1974

The series consists of a variety of record books created at Woodlands School (later known simply as Woodlands) between 1908 and 1974, with the majority of the records dating from the late 1930s to the 1950s. The records relate to both staff and residents, although the majority of the records pertain to residents. Staff records include “position vacant” cards, lists of staff and the dates they joined and left Woodlands, and ledgers detailing absences and sick time for both male and female staff members. The staff lists are not comprehensive and frequently appear to provide a snapshot in time.

Records relating to patients provide evidence of the day-to-day functioning of the institution, including one- or two-sentence long hourly reports by nursing staff. Researchers should note that while specific individuals are named in the records, the records do not include case files. Some “propensity” ledgers provide alphabetical listings of patients, their admission dates and patient number, a brief one- or two-word description of why they were admitted, information about clothing, religion, and whether they left Woodlands. However, these registers do not cover the entire period of time that Woodlands operated and should not be seen as admissions registers.

The series includes a set of record books with daily shift reports that list disturbances, illnesses, numbers of residents employed in certain tasks, outings to movies and concerts, and any other noteworthy occurrences. The series contains ledgers relating to residents’ health, and other books related to their day-to-day lives. Records related to health care include those detailing medicine dosages, notes on blood pressure, and ‘doctors’ orders’ books. Records relating to daily life include notes on clothing and shoes sent to be cleaned, repaired, or discarded, numbers of residents sent to the ‘airing court’ for recreation, and records relating to the sewing and knitting done by residents. In some cases, ledgers provide assessments of the knitting skill of residents, and it appears that patients did sewing for both themselves and for staff. Records relating to shoes and clothing appear to be carbon copies of receipts issued when items were sent for repair or cleaning, and many are difficult to read. The series also includes general ward counts and statistics as well as a ward inventory listing everything from brooms to medical equipment. Some ledgers provide information on residents who were transferred to or from institutions at Essondale, Tranquille, and Colquitz.

There appear to have been three staff shifts in Woodlands, and records are often annotated with the time of the shift. Shifts ran from 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am. It is common to see annotations such as 3-11 next to a report.

Many of the ledgers were not labelled and do not have original titles on them. Titles in square brackets were supplied by the Archivist on the basis of the file list that accompanied the records when they were transferred to Archives custody. Where the assigned title does not appear adequate, a further explanatory note has been included. Explanatory notes have also been included in square brackets when the title on the ledger book was vague or potentially misleading.

Within the ledgers, the bulk of the records are organized chronologically. Some books contain indexes or are arranged alphabetically by surname, although due to the nature of the records it is more common to see chronological progressions.

Records in this series were selected for retention by staff working with the Records Management Branch in the early 1990s.

British Columbia. Dept. of Human Resources