Back to Newsroom

My experience with the ‘good’ psyche ward

My recent involuntary stay at the Joseph & Rosalie Segal & Family Health Centre at VGH was not so bad at all

March 6, 2025

I’ve come to realize something: a trip to the psychiatric ward doesn’t always have to be a bad experience, now does it?  

But the moment that put me there sure was bad, I’ll tell you that.  

Honestly, I thought it was an urban myth that when you get hit by a car, you fly right out of your shoes. Nope. Not a myth. I literally did a back flip and my shoes were left behind somewhere and some poor, horrified onlooker had to hand them to me as I tried to get to my feet afterwards and attempt to keep walking, as if nothing had happened.  

Yep, I’m fine. Thank you very much. Just goin’’ to the safe site over there and get some drugs into me. Immediately.  

No. Not going anywhere, you say? OK… that’s probably the better idea anyway. That guy was only doing like 45 km/hr. Anybody get a plate number, by the way?  

So… somehow, everybody gets the idea that this little near-fatal experience I’m having was actually a genuine suicide attempt and I am thus rushed away by ambulance to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and placed under 24-hour supervision in the emergency department. Which I barely noticed, thanks to the opiate cocktail that saw me through the first 48 hours of pain and agony, X-rays of my broken pelvis and all that jazz.  

Involuntary certification under the BC Mental Health Act and secure inpatient treatment can seem like the scariest thing at first, of course. Fearful associations with the old Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam come to mind, which thankfully I never had to experience, personally.

But of course, the most extreme forms of mental health  treatments are behind us in modern times. Compassion and patient-centered care are key elements in clinical theory today. 

So then, the nicest VGH nurse comes along and tells me she is very pleased to let me know that I will be transferred shortly to the Joseph & Rosalie Segal & Family Health Centre — a sleek, modern, eight-storey building located on the grounds of VGH which opened its doors to the public in fall of 2017. She told me that this should make my stay much more bearable, as opposed to being in a bed in an emergency department, which is over-crowded with all kinds of noise and calamity.  

She was right. The Segal centre turned out to be the nicest hospital stay I’ve ever experienced. And I’ve had a few.  

A team of care providers 

First of all, you get your very own room, a nice, big room with an en suite bathroom and shower. No matter which of the four floors you stay on while admitted as an inpatient, you get an incredible view of the beautiful city of Vancouver and its mountainous backdrop from any of the large windows. There is a small outdoor courtyard located on each unit, allowing patients access to fresh air breaks and sunshine, when the weather is nice enough. The building also features a rooftop garden for patients to enjoy as green space, which has been proven to help immensely in therapeutic treatments.  

Once the nursing staff have laundered what you wore to the hospital, you are given back your own clothing and allowed to wear that for the duration of your stay. This makes it that much more comfortable. You can also wash your own clothing yourself, practise some life skills, y’know?  

Then there’s the food, which compared to most of what the rest of the hospital patients are being served (no offence), is pretty much full-course gourmet, if you ask me. Fish sauté’, chicken cordon bleu and even a fancy-style mac-and-cheese were just a few of the menu items I recall enjoying. There are also snack times between the meals, complete with cookies and other sweets, juices and mini cereal boxes.  

Visits from friends and family are allowed, and those friends and family can bring you items you might need or simply like to have: toiletries, books, art or crafting supplies, or extra pyjamas and your favourite bunny slippers.  

In their dedicated mission to restore brain and spiritual health, and mental happiness, the Segals thought of everything… even a weekly visit with a therapy dog named “Arlo,” a big friendly brown poodle, whose job it is to come along with his human handler each week for belly rubs, which make both Arlo and any Segal animal-lovers happy.  

There are 100 in beds in total, with 75 beds focused on clients who require longer-term, intensive treatment. 

The average length of stay is approximately five to 12 days.  

Each patient is assigned a team made up of the following: a psychiatrist, nurse, care management leader, occupational therapist, social worker and nursing unit assistant. This team then coordinates their efforts around finding the problems which have brought you to the centre, plan ways to help you deal with these problems and, ultimately, help you return to better mental health and a more satisfying life. 

The Segal family donated $12 million to the $82-million project. 

“Mental health problems are far more prevalent than most of us realize,” said Joseph Segal when the centre was completed in 2017.

“The cure is not easy. Compassion and understanding are so vital in the cure. I believe that this building that we are dedicating will be a step to understanding and tolerance.” 

Philanthropists Joseph and Rosalie Segal have since passed away, but their legacy lives on at this amazing centre. 

Welcome relief from the streets 

My own personal stay was a little over two weeks and boy, did I need that break from the harsh grind of street life I had been living in Vancouver, and for quite some time. So it was a nice, almost vacation-like, experience for me. I even ended up actually seeing a couple of folks I’d known from the streets, and so, it was comforting to have a friend to talk to, as I relaxed for the first time in decades and let my pelvis heal up. I also used this time to work with my team on some steps, steps which thankfully  I am now in the process of taking towards building a better life for myself, and for those who care about me. They’re out there somewhere… I can feel them. I can feel you, whoever you are. 

So, I guess I would like to thank all the staff and fellow patients who were a part of my team there for being so supportive and allowing me my own space and time to get myself back on track. Greatly appreciated. I hope anyone else who needs to stay there, for any reason, has as good an experience as I did. Heck, I don’t see why they should not.  

As far as I’m concerned, it’s all good at the Segal centre.   Nicolas Crier (Cree) is a member of The Shift peer newsroom at Megaphone. He has spent approximately half his life surviving in the streets and more than a decade in the Downtown Eastside. He is a published writer and takes part in numerous academic partnerships through universities and health authorities. He is the proud father of one son.

Published in Megaphone magazine on March 7, 2025