Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (French: Waypoint Centre de soins de santé mentale), formerly known as Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene, is a 315-bed hospital providing mental health, addictions and geriatric care, located on Georgian Bay in the Town of Penetanguishene, approximately north of Toronto. Waypoint provides both acute and longer-term mental health, addiction and geriatric inpatient and outpatient care to Simcoe County, Dufferin County, Muskoka and Parry Sound. In addition, Waypoint is home to the Waypoint Research Institute and operates OntarioâÂÂs only high secure forensic mental health units, serving patients involved in both the mental health and justice systems. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Toronto. It is also the largest employer in North Simcoe Region.
The hospital was founded in 1904, taking over a building previously used by the Boys Reformatory of Upper Canada. In 1933 the first four wards of the Oak Ridge building were built. The hospital was named Ontario Hospital.
1933 â The first patient units in the Oak Ridge building open. The hospital is known during this period as Ontario Hospital.
2008 â The hospital, then called the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre, is divested from the Ontario government and renamed Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, under the sponsorship of Catholic Health Sponsors of Ontario.
In 2014 the new Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care building was opened on the site of the old Oak Ridge building. The Oak Ridge building was demolished to make space for the new forensic mental health facility.
Waypoint is one of four specialized mental health hospitals in Ontario. It is also the sole provider of high-secure forensic mental health services, meaning it serves some of the provinceâÂÂs most complex and disadvantaged populations. The hospitalâÂÂs work to advance understanding of mental health care includes a focus on clarifying misperceptions about mental health.
WaypointâÂÂs program in mental health and addictions care improves lives and brings hope to people with mental illness and substance use issues, as well as their families and care partners. While helping patients overcome their struggles is the main priority, another important goal is eliminating the stigma attached to addiction.
WaypointâÂÂs Horizon Program for Geriatric Psychiatry serves patients 65 or over with signs and symptoms of a psychiatric disorder, as well as persons under 65 with AlzheimerâÂÂs or other forms of dementia. Physicians, nurses, social workers, recreational therapists, behaviour support specialists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists oversee patient care.
Outpatient programs are community-based mental health services available to community members experiencing a variety of mental health challenges. These programs offer support in collaboration with primary care providers and regional partners, focusing on recovery, assessment, stabilization, therapy and community support. They include:
Other services for outpatients include the Neuromodulation Program, the Mobile Treatment and Support Team, Rehabilitation Services, Waypoint at Home, and the Outpatient Assessment and Treatment Service.
Inpatient Services at Waypoint offer specialized and comprehensive assessment and treatment to individuals suffering from complex or persistent mental health issues. Programs include:
Other services for inpatients include the Horizon Program for Geriatric Psychiatry, the Bayview Program for Dual Diagnosis and the Brébeuf Program for Regional Forensics.
Waypoint partners with more than 50 organizations regionally and provincially to better deliver integrated care and to inform health policy-making. Major partnerships include:
Sunnybrook Hospital â partnering in the provision of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) delivery, a form of neuromodulation.
Homelessness, Addictions, Recovery and Treatment (HART) Hub of Simcoe â a regionally-based, partnership to coordinate and deliver care for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness who are struggling with mental illness and addiction
Minookmii (Sacred Tracks Upon The Earth). This free program offers cognitive behavioural therapy that weaves together Indigenous ways of knowing and cultural interventions with evidence-based practices. Minookmii is not only supporting people with their recovery, but also transforming how mental health services are delivered.
The Waypoint Research Institute conducts research into many aspects of mental health and addictions care. The Institute currently has 92 research collaborations underway, working with organizations such as the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and St. JosephâÂÂs Healthcare. It also maintains formal academic research partnerships with the University of Toronto, McMaster University, York University, Toronto Metropolitan University and Georgian College.
In 2025, researchers Dr. Zoe Hilton, Elke Ham and team received the Governor GeneralâÂÂs Innovation Award for their work in the development of a data-driven tool to predict and assess the risk of intimate partner violence, one of only six such awards given nationally.
Other fields of inquiry include the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, patient-centered care, intimate partner and gender-based violence, and youth mental health. Researcher, Dr. Andrea Waddell and team, developed the first AI-driven tool in North America for predicting the risk of harm, helping healthcare teams to intervene in a timely manner.
Accredited With Exemplary Standing, Accreditation Canada
Gold Level, âÂÂMental Health at Workâ certification, Canada Awards for Excellence