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

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|Title= Concord State Hospital
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|Title= Bolivar State Hospital
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|Image= Bolivar_State_Hospital_1.jpg
 
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|Body= In 1838, a bill for the establishment of an asylum was passed and the long struggle of more than six years was over. This bill was in the form of a charter to establish a corporation known as the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane. The corporation had power to hold real and personal property for any amount necessary for its support, provided that this income from real and personal estate should not exceed $30,000. There were 39 incorporators. The institution was placed under the management of a board of 12 trustees, three of whom should vacate their office yearly and eight of these trustees were elected by the corporation and four by a Board of Visitors. It was further provided that the sum of $15,000 should be secured to the institution by individuals before any money should come from the state. If these conditions were met 30 shares of New Hampshire bank stock, worth about $18,000, were to be given to the institution. As might have been anticipated, difficulties arose almost at once in the corporation between the subscribers to the voluntary fund and the trustees appointed by the state. It accordingly became necessary for the Legislature to act and provide that the direction, management and control of all the property and concerns of the asylum should be vested in trustees without power of interference on the part of the corporation. It was finally in 1840 deemed best to put the whole institution under the control of 12 trustees, to be appointed by the Governor and council. The Legislature also provided at the same time that all the contributions by private individuals, previously made, should be returned to them if claimed before a certain time.
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|Body= Western State Mental Hospital, located near Bolivar, was the last state mental hospital to be constructed and habitually the one least funded. In December 1885 the site commissioners chose the farm of Paul T. Jones as the location for the proposed facility.
  
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The asylum was located in 1841 in the Town of Concord, because the town had given the sum of $9500 to secure the location. Private individuals also contributed in addition to this sum. The Building Committee entered upon its duties at once and n October, 1842, procured the completion of a portion of the present center building with accommodations for 96 patients. The whole amount expended for the farm of 121 acres, the erection of the hospital and outbuildings, furniture, stock, etc., was $36,277.70. Of this sum $19,000 had been paid by the state, the balance being received in contributions by the town and citizens of Concord, the Society of Shakers and other benevolent individuals.  [[Concord State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
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The institution's patient population grew from a few hundred in the 1890s to over 2,000 in the 1960s as patients remained hospitalized for decades. Many were crowded into large dormitories and had little privacy. With a limited number of doctors and attendants and a large patient population, many were simply "warehoused."
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Patients at Western received the treatments available in their period of institutionalization. These treatments ranged from hydrotherapy and insulin shock therapy to lobotomies and electric shock therapy. With the severe staff limitations, however, patients were fortunate to receive ten minutes per week with a psychiatrist.
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The system for securing financing for patient care limited the operating budget. In Tennessee, there were three classes of patients: the state-pay patients, the county-pay patients, and the private-pay patients. State agencies agreed to pay for one patient out of a population of one thousand. Once this portion of the payment had been satisfied, the county was responsible for additional costs. The county payments consistently lagged behind, and superintendents had to engage in deficit spending to keep the hospital operating. The two most influential superintendents, Dr. Edwin Cocke and Dr. Edwin Levy, often faced political pressure from state officials, but both managed to make some improvements in the care offered at Western.  [[Bolivar State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 04:47, 24 November 2014

Featured Article Of The Week

Bolivar State Hospital


Bolivar State Hospital 1.jpg

Western State Mental Hospital, located near Bolivar, was the last state mental hospital to be constructed and habitually the one least funded. In December 1885 the site commissioners chose the farm of Paul T. Jones as the location for the proposed facility.

The institution's patient population grew from a few hundred in the 1890s to over 2,000 in the 1960s as patients remained hospitalized for decades. Many were crowded into large dormitories and had little privacy. With a limited number of doctors and attendants and a large patient population, many were simply "warehoused."

Patients at Western received the treatments available in their period of institutionalization. These treatments ranged from hydrotherapy and insulin shock therapy to lobotomies and electric shock therapy. With the severe staff limitations, however, patients were fortunate to receive ten minutes per week with a psychiatrist.

The system for securing financing for patient care limited the operating budget. In Tennessee, there were three classes of patients: the state-pay patients, the county-pay patients, and the private-pay patients. State agencies agreed to pay for one patient out of a population of one thousand. Once this portion of the payment had been satisfied, the county was responsible for additional costs. The county payments consistently lagged behind, and superintendents had to engage in deficit spending to keep the hospital operating. The two most influential superintendents, Dr. Edwin Cocke and Dr. Edwin Levy, often faced political pressure from state officials, but both managed to make some improvements in the care offered at Western. Click here for more...

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