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Between You andMe By Ruth Chambers About Whit by Ps ychriatric The Whitby Psychiatric Hospital was built between 1916 and 1919 during the World War One. The total acreage when the site was obtained and the hospital built was 640 acres but now only 240 acres are in use. In the past the patient population was about 1500 and now 504. Today many former occupants are out -patients on medication and some live in private homes in and around Whitby. About 600 people are employed in the Hospital from the Region of Durham at the present time. I have been very curious in the past few years to know more about the expenditures by our government in regard to this hospital. I have heard as many of us have, of horrendous rumours and much talk around town about the cost of on thing and another. However rumours are not facts and one hesitates to ever accept gossip or rumour as truth. So here are some facts and I say "tew" as I may not have them all. From 1975 through 1978 a toal of approximately $871,000 was spent on constructiôn and repairs at the hospital. Some $330,000 is classified as minor capital construction as no major capital construction was undertaken during this time period. this included items such as upgrading all cottage washrooms, fire excapes, emergency exits and the like. It also includes the cost of demolishpg buildings in 1977. If you look closely you can see so much hand work done by craftsmen of that time. A few tiled roofs are still in evidence brought over from Europe to enhance the appearance of the buildings. To-day of course the cost would be prohibitive certainly by any government agency. These demolished buildings I think would include several staff homes on the west side of the propertyon a side street which runs from the BaseLine throgh the hospital grounds. Few if any Government buildings are allowed to deteriorate to any extent. I understand a great deal of m oney was spent on these staff houses in the past to keep them up to par. A staff member who knew these homes told me they were attractive, in good repair and well kept. To-make a choice in thepast few years of either demolishing or renovating well kept buildings.would be easy I should think. In the past buildings as a general rule were well built by competent, well trained men who took pride in their work. Materials were good, no green lumber; copper pipes were used and little if any slip shod work was done; People on the whole took pride in the results of their labours whether it was carpentry, plumbing or other areas of workmanship. So the choice apparently was demolition and this is to be the case again in the near future I heár. Destruction of what buildings' I don't know. I suppose they call them outmoded. Often ill advised planning by so called experts who want to forfeit the old for the new and sometimes the "new" becomes obsolete in no time at all. Old- buildings are part of our heritage. Appreciation and respect for the past is essential. Our intellect and aesthetics are shocked enough by replacing the old .with monumental piles of concrete and plastic. We are living in a throw away society; nlot our buildings, please not those. 'Many of us remnember our old Pos~t Office and the water j' troughs for the horses on Brock St.' at the four corners. Maybe not an aesthetically beautiful building but one of strength and stability. It gave character to our downtown and quite often people mention it these days. To recap, could this total of $330,000 be thought of as "lost dollars" when we know of the proposed expansion and renovation plan for thie hospital? The balance of the total amount (about $871,000) was for repair work, totaling $541,000 j from 1975 to 1978. "Lost dollars" when one thinks of exterior painting and the like now to be lost in part at least to demolition. Major capital expenditures were made in 1974 for the renovation of number one kitchen and cottage, number five. These units are not likely to be eliminated. A wild guess and only a guess would be a total of maybe 250,000. 300,000 in "lost dollars" over the past five years to expnd and upgrade the facilities of the hospial. I wbuld like to see many "lost dollars" from many government departments used for -medical research. Some of this property could be used for such a project. There is room to spare. We are so lax with our funding for research and it is needed so very badly in so many areas of medicine. Why not combine the whole, our. general hospital, the psychiatric hospital, the grounds and services? At the present rate of growth we may need a teaching hospital in this area within a few years. A research centre could be a catalist for great things. Such a scenic property could be and should be used for uplifting of the body and soulf for what else is of such importance? Many thanks to George Ashe for his kindness in compilling these facts and figures for me from the ministry. Whitby Psychiatrie Hita