Centracare (hospital)

Centracare is a Canadian psychiatric hospital in South Bay, New Brunswick, a suburb of Saint John.

Operated by Horizon Health Network, it is a modern 50-bed tertiary care facility.

History

Centracare's history can be traced to 1835 when the Provincial Lunatic Asylum was constructed at the corner of Wentworth and Leinster streets in "uptown" Saint John, making it the first mental health facility constructed in British North America. Its first director was Dr. George Peters who served from 1835-1848.

Ground was broken in 1846 on a new facility to be constructed of stone to replace the aging wooden structure at Wentworth and Leinster. This new building was to occupy a commanding location in the neighbouring city of Lancaster, on a high bluff on the west bank of the Saint John River overlooking the Reversing Falls gorge which was immediately upstream. An infamous nearby road intersection at the west end of the Reversing Falls Bridge called "Simms Corner" (after the T.S. Simms & Co. Ltd. paint brush factory) was located on the north side of the property.