Southlake Health opens new outdoor patio for mental health patients

Patients will be able to safely access fresh air, natural light and nature as part of their care journey.

Southlake Health has officially opened a new outdoor patio designed specifically for patients receiving inpatient mental health care, creating a safe and therapeutic environment that promotes comfort, connection and access to nature.

“Access to outdoor space plays an important role in the healing experience,” said Mahdi Memarpour, MD, Chief of Psychiatry at Southlake Health. “Southlake’s new patio gives patients the opportunity to step outside in a safe and therapeutic setting that supports their care journey and overall mental wellness.”

Located on the third floor of Southlake’s West Building, the 2,900-square-foot seasonal patio provides patients with safe, direct access to fresh air, natural light, and the outdoors. The thoughtfully designed patio features a variety of seating areas for quiet reflection and social connection, along with planters filled with seasonal flowers and greenery that bring nature into this new healing environment. With a primarily southern exposure and open views through glass safety partitions, the space offers patients a welcoming outdoor setting, while maintaining necessary safety measures.

“More than 1,500 patients who receive inpatient mental health care at Southlake each year will benefit from the new therapeutic patio,” said Katrina Scott, Director, Mental Health Program at Southlake Health. “This important enhancement reflects Southlake’s commitment to continually improving the patient experience and advancing mental health care.”

The patio was made possible through the generosity of donors who supported Southlake Health Foundation’s Better Begins Today Mental Health Campaign. Community support helped fund more than $7.5 million in purpose-built, healing spaces for Southlake’s Mental Health Program, providing privacy, dignity and support when patients need it most. Southlake Health Foundation extends special gratitude to Michael and Sharon Croxon for their long-standing philanthropic leadership and meaningful support of the Better Begins Today Campaign to help empower Southlake to make these transformative upgrades.

“Since the initial launch of the Better Begins Today Campaign, through to this final piece of vital expansion, our generous and thoughtful donor community has helped to transform the patient experience in our Mental Health Program,” said Jennifer Ritter, President and CEO of Southlake Health Foundation.  “Every patient who walks through our doors seeking hope and healing in their most vulnerable moments feels the impact of donor generosity in the spaces they have helped create.  From the NewRoads Automotive Group Emergent Mental Health Assessment Unit to our expanded Adult Inpatient Mental Health Unit, to the creation of this new outdoor patio space, I hope every person in our communities who generously supported this Campaign feels great pride in the impact they have made for our loved ones, friends, and neighbours.”

Over the next decade, Southlake will transform into a Distributed Health Network (DHN) that includes a redeveloped Davis Drive campus in Newmarket. Updates like the new patio help Southlake continue to deliver leading edge care, close to home, while planning for the DHN is ongoing.

QUICK FACTS

• Southlake’s experienced team of psychiatrists, nurses, child and youth counselors and other allied health providers care for more than 2,000 patients each year, supporting their recovery and mental wellness.
• In 2023, Southlake opened a new 12-bed adult inpatient mental health unit, increasing mental health capacity to support more patients. With special furnishing, the units are tailored to meet the unique needs of mental health patients.

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