Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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|Title= Arizona State Hospital
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|Title= Camarillo State Hospital
|Image= Arizona State Hospital PC.jpg
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|Image= Camsh.jpg
 
|Width= 150px
 
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|Body= Eight years after Arizona became a separate territory from New Mexico, the concept that mental illness is a state responsibility was first recognized by the Territorial Legislature. On February 17, 1871, legislation was enacted which stated that the various Boards of Supervisors of the counties must provide for the confinement of all insane persons, "either in the County jail or in such other manner and place as shall be in their judgment be best for the safety of said insane person and of the community."
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|Body= In 1932, the State of California purchased 1,760 acres (7.1 km2) of the Lewis ranch, located three miles south of the city of Camarillo, and established the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. Camarillo State Hospital was in use from 1936 to 1997. During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the hospital was at the forefront of treating illnesses that previously had been thought of as untreatable. An example of this was the drug and therapy procedures the facility's doctors developed for schizophrenia. Many of these programs initiated at Camarillo helped patients formerly relegated to a lifetime of warehousing in an institution or lobotomies be able to leave the hospital and move to less restrictive group homes or become (at least nearly) independent. The hospital continued to be a leader in the research of drugs and therapies in subsequent years. They also had one of the first units of any hospital to deal with autism.
  
In 1885, the 13th Territorial Legislature met to appropriate $100,000 for the construction of the "Insane Asylum of Arizona" in Phoenix. In addition, an Honorary Board of Directors of the Insane Asylum of Arizona was established. County bonds were issued for $3,500 for 160 acres with water rights 2-1/2 miles east of Phoenix. Construction began in 1886, to accommodate up to 280 patients, taking eight months to complete.
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Due to its low patient number and the rising costs per patient, the governor of California at the time, Republican Pete Wilson, announced in January 1996 plans to close down the hospital in July 1997. Various members of the community, family members of patients, and employees of Camarillo made several last-ditch efforts to keep the hospital open, arguing in part that the patients are already used to Camarillo and questioned where they would go. Some tried to get mentally ill criminals placed in Camarillo in an effort to save it, a proposal that had come up several times before, but again community members were concerned of the risk of criminals escaping into the community. Pete Wilson ended up standing his ground and the hospital closed down in late June 1997, with the patients and research facilities moved to other locations. [[Camarillo State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
The "Insane Asylum of Arizona" opened early in January 1887, for 61 patients with the completion of "D" building. This was actually 3 buildings with 2 patient wings and a central administrative facility.
 
 
 
Under the Board's direction, the remaining 160 acres was cleared of brush for grain crops, a vegetable garden, a vineyard and an orchard with 2,000 trees. In addition, a small area was set aside for a staff and patient cemetery, which has 2400 graves dating back to 1888. Among those buried in "All Souls Cemetery" is Corporal Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor.
 
 
 
A Board of Control replaced the Insane Asylum Board in 1895 (and was later disassembled in the 1940's), to establish policies and procedures regarding declarations of insanity, patient confinement, and terms of release. There was no legal process for confinement, and since they were few institutions, persons were committed reasons such as old age, tuberculosis, and "feeble-mindedness." [[Arizona State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
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Revision as of 04:12, 5 March 2012

Featured Article Of The Week

Camarillo State Hospital


Camsh.jpg

In 1932, the State of California purchased 1,760 acres (7.1 km2) of the Lewis ranch, located three miles south of the city of Camarillo, and established the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. Camarillo State Hospital was in use from 1936 to 1997. During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the hospital was at the forefront of treating illnesses that previously had been thought of as untreatable. An example of this was the drug and therapy procedures the facility's doctors developed for schizophrenia. Many of these programs initiated at Camarillo helped patients formerly relegated to a lifetime of warehousing in an institution or lobotomies be able to leave the hospital and move to less restrictive group homes or become (at least nearly) independent. The hospital continued to be a leader in the research of drugs and therapies in subsequent years. They also had one of the first units of any hospital to deal with autism.

Due to its low patient number and the rising costs per patient, the governor of California at the time, Republican Pete Wilson, announced in January 1996 plans to close down the hospital in July 1997. Various members of the community, family members of patients, and employees of Camarillo made several last-ditch efforts to keep the hospital open, arguing in part that the patients are already used to Camarillo and questioned where they would go. Some tried to get mentally ill criminals placed in Camarillo in an effort to save it, a proposal that had come up several times before, but again community members were concerned of the risk of criminals escaping into the community. Pete Wilson ended up standing his ground and the hospital closed down in late June 1997, with the patients and research facilities moved to other locations. Click here for more...