Wednesday, November 30, 2011

November-December 2011

I saw a message on Twitter that this fellow has been found. The RCMP page about him has been removed. (I wish that the RCMP would just update the pages, to reflect the changes; but they frequently just remove the page; leaving everyone wondering what the outcome was.?) Hopefully a good outcome.
Man from Riverview sought

Valleyview will close down at Riverview
I guess that the kitchen facilities there, continue to provide meals.

Update on placement of provincial public service workers impacted by Riverview Hospital closure.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Missing Patient

Another missing patient.
Police search for Riverview man
The RCMP page about the missing patient.

Still missing one  for many months now.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Request for proposals

BC Bid has a contract up for bids. They are looking for a contractor to research the historical aspects, reuse of the buildings,etc., Have a look here
Should be interesting what the eventual winner of the bid, comes up with for ideas.

Friday, September 9, 2011

September 2011

Three patients now missing; it must be contagious

Cao Phan FOUND
Robert Cheng FOUND
Linda Muriel Stephen


Silly season has started ! Municipal elections in November;

PHOTOS: Should this hospital be in Coquitlam? City wants Columbian moved
Move Royal Columbian Hospital to Riverview?

Related to health care:
Community Living B.C. cuts cause pain

Colony Farm Industrialization scheme

TREEFEST 2011 on the Riverview Hospital grounds; everyone is welcome.


TREE TOURS: The Popular Tree Tours which highlight some of the more than 1,900 trees on the site
11am, 12 noon, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm - leaving from beside the HEY building


HERITAGE BUILDING WALK: 12:00 Noon
There will be a Heritage walk with Don Luxton, well-known heritage consultant and member of the Vancouver Heritage Society who knows the grounds well. It will include walking to the main heritage buildings, but NOT inside.

CHILDREN'S TREE WALK: 2:30
Children of all ages will enjoy this wonderful walk. - leaving from near the HEY building.

SPEAKERS

"The Healing Power of Trees": Jay Peachy  

"Horticulture Therapy": Katie Hughes

ARTS: local artists on site displaying, demonstrating & selling their work.

ENTERTAINMENT
1:30 – 2:30 pm Stringz Aloud Finnie’s Garden Susan Vigneux and Don Kellett, play swing, jazz, traditional music using guitars, mandolin.
2:30 – 4:30 pm Dragana Hajduk Finnie’s Garden
11:00 am –12:30 pm Ernie Higgins, plays a guitar North side of HEY near concession 
12:45 – 2:15 pm The Acchords North side of HEY near concession
2:30 – 4:00 pm Sharmaine and Luvena Kwong North side of HEY near concession 


BLACKBERRY TEA: 1:30 - 4:30 - Blackberry tea served in Finnie’s Garden 
-Back again by popular demand. Tea will be served this year by volunteers from BMN & Maple Creek streamkeepers.

CHILDREN'S CRAFT ACTIVITIES
FOOD CONCESSION
FREE SHUTTLE BUS

This Event is FREE no registration required. Lots of Free Parking!
If you require more information phone 604-927-3583 or email Mary@rhcs.org

Bring the entire family to this free annual celebration of trees on the Riverview Hospital Lands.

Treefest is supported by:
Riverview Hospital Historical Society

Treefest is organized in partnership with:

The Riverview Horticultural Centre Society, RHCS
"Speaking for the Trees since 1992"

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

August 2011

Missing Riverview man sought
Same person but a link to the RCMP, where there is a picture; Missing Riverview patient: Robert Cheng

Still missing Linda Muriel Stephen, last seen April 8, 2011.

Film biz not so scary

 Not directly about Riverview; but still about mental health issues:
Family of violent mentally ill man blame his death on Vancouver police

B.C. group homes closing due to funding cuts

Large percentage of mental-health patients restrained, says study

Monday, July 4, 2011

July 2011

Letter to the Editor, of The NOW, newspaper:  Hey premier, where do you stand on Riverview?

Banished Saltspring Island man's mental health getting ‘worse’: parent.

One step forward, and two steps back....
Man with mental age of 6 jailed for lack of options

And if you were wondering why there is no money for health care; look no further;
Guilty plea by former deputy minister in eHealth scandal

Shortage of  space for patients on Vancouver Island;
Mental-health patients betrayed by VIHA

I see that the "urban explorers" are still wandering around the site.
Riverview Mental Hospital: More From West Lawn

Some photos from Flickr:  Riverview: West Lawn
And even more pictures from Flickr: Abandoned: West Lawn

And a page on Atlas Obscura, about Riverview, (Although the facts are somewhat wrong in the article.)

Friday, June 3, 2011

June 2011

Continuing with the disturbing theme of missing residents of Riverview.
Kelly Pickwell has been reported as missing.
Still missing from last month is Linda Stephen
Hopeful that they are both found safe and sound.

Monday, May 2, 2011

May 2011

A few pictures from the Heritage walk.  Download a copy of the Heritage Walk guide, here (pdf)

Friday, April 15, 2011

April 2011

We have a trend occurring here; another missing patient.
        Here is the RCMP initial report, and the latest with a picture

Linda Stephen 58-years, 5' 4" 108 lbs, last seen wearing a green fleece jacket

 There has been more than normal disappearances at Riverview the past few months, and the staff are being especially quiet about the potential reasons behind them.

The Hillside unit was shut down a few weeks ago now.  It has been totally cleaned out; it hopefully awaits a new use, since it is in good shape.  Finished in 1966, it was designed for patients who were being integrated back into the community.

Learn about Riverview Hospital heritage at May 1 walk.  I will be one of the leaders in this walk.


You can download a copy of the Heritage Walk booklet here (pdf)

Friday, March 4, 2011

March 2011

This year appears to be having many missing residents of the hospital being reported.
Police seeking Riverview patient
And another article from The NOW, which has a better picture
Cao Phan is a Forensic Psychiatric Services patient, be careful!

UPDATE! Cao Phan, has been located, according to the RCMP website.

Vancouver Archives has a Flickr page, devoted to W.J. Moore's panoramic photos.
They have put a large format one of West Lawn in there. Stunning!


I have transcribed the First annual report of the Botanical Office of the Province of British Columbia.
By John Davidson,aka "Botany John". Published in 1914, it now lives forever in the Internet Archives.
The botanical garden is a 100 years old next year, it was first at Essondale from 1912-1916, when it was moved to Point Grey, todays UBC Botanical garden

Thursday, February 17, 2011

February 2011

From "The NOW" newspaper; Missing woman found dead
Patricia Donna Reed, a long-time resident was missing for five days, until found on the property.
Pat, to those who knew her, my thoughts go out to the family, residents, staff and all who knew her at this time.

Police seek help to find missing Riverview man
 Long-time resident Kurt Roloff, missing.
According to the Coquitlam RCMP website; Kurt has been located, with no further information given.

"Leave them alone, and they will come home, wagging their tails behind them."


Copies of the Riverview Hospital Legacy Book are now available.

Save the Riverview Hospital lands

The Riverview Hospital lands, are under pressure to be developed into market housing. Help to save the lands as a healing sanctuary for the mentally ill of OUR Province.



Please join the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society,( RHCS ) Facebook page. Twitter too!

Please sign the On-line petition or download a Word document petition ,which is a more official type of petition.
Blogs, about the hospital grounds
Mike Farnworth,MLA; Facebook forum " Protect the Riverview Lands"
And another Facebook group: Riverview Preservation Society
this group also has a petition to sign.

Click-able Map of the Riverview site

BISCO -- Brookside-Leeside-Roadside -- Centre Lawn -- Colony Farm
Crease Clinic -- East Lawn -- Essondale Hospital
Finnie's Garden -- Henry Esson Young -- Hillside unit
Home for the Aged-Valleyview -- North Lawn
Nurses homes -- Pennington Hall -- TreeFest -- West Lawn
John Davidson; "Botany John" blog. He was the first Provincial Botanist, who created British Columbia's first Botanical Garden at Riverview.
Other groups involved Riverview Horticultural Centre Society
Who also have a media NEWS Blog
You can also download a 42 page report titled, For the future of Riverview created by the Riverview Task Force.
Or Burke Mountain Naturalists, report: The Riverview Hospital Site, Respecting its Past,Realizing its Future
Coquitlam has designated the buildings and grounds, as a heritage site.
Download the Statement of Significance; SoS report PDF

Tour through the grounds


Paul Buikema, of Progress Landscaping, created this video.

Treefest 2011 slideshow


A slideshow of images from the Tree festival of 2011. Created in HD. Enjoy.

Riverview trees

Finnie's Garden -- slideshow

Finnie's Garden -- Pond restoration slideshow

TreeFest -- slideshow