Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead Lunch & Lecture Series: “Beyond the Asylum—The Evolution of Mental Health Care in PEI, 1846-2017”

The Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead’s Lunch & Lecture Series returns this summer, with events taking place on Sundays at 1 pm throughout July and August. Each event begins with a meal followed by a guest speaker. Built in 1856 as a farmhouse, the Homestead was purchased by the Macphail family in 1864, the same year Sir Andrew Macphail was born.

Today, it operates as a community museum celebrating the life and legacy of the renowned doctor, scholar, writer, and editor. In addition to his medical career, Macphail wrote for newspapers, magazines, and journals, published ten books, and was knighted after the First World War for his contributions to military field medicine and literature. The Lunch & Lecture Series is a fundraiser for the Macphail Foundation.

How Islanders have historically cared for people with mental health issues has evolved considerably over the past century and a half. Today, Islanders can access a comprehensive spectrum of mental health services that include — but also go far beyond — the asylum/mental hospital.  This history of mental health care presented by Dr. Tina Pranger will highlight information on Andrew MacPhail’s father who was a supervisor at the PEI Hospital for the Insane. 

To register, email macphailhomestead@gmail.com or call 902-651-2789. The venue is wheelchair accessible.