Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"
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| − | |Title= | + | |Title= Fulton State Hospital |
| − | |Image= | + | |Image= Fulton1.jpg |
|Width= 150px | |Width= 150px | ||
| − | |Body= | + | |Body= In 1847, the Missouri General Assembly enacted legislation to establish an asylum for the insane in the central area of the state. This institution was to provide physical care for societal "lunatics." Several counties were encouraged to bid for this institution. Callaway County was able to produce $11,500 and 500 acres of land, thus winning the bid. Fulton State Hospital, the first public mental institution west of the Mississippi River in 1851, admitted its first 67 patients in December. |
| − | + | The original building was three stories high, excluding the basement and attic. It contained 72 rooms and housed the same number of patients. The center of the building was reserved for a patient dining area, and lodging rooms for officers, attendants, and laborers. All employees of the hospital were required to live on the grounds, and had to obtain special permission from the Superintendent in order to leave. The hospital was almost totally self-sufficient at this time. By maintaining sewing rooms, vegetable and straw houses, raising their own food, pumping water from underground wells and streams, and making their own soap, the hospital was similar to a small city, requiring few resources from outside its grounds. | |
| − | + | According to State Biennial Reports, several probable causes of mental illness were determined in the first cases admitted. Among the more unusual causes were indigestion, religious anxiety, disappointed love, intense study, and jealousy. Epilepsy and tuberculosis were the two most common causes. As psychiatry was virtually an unexplored field, primary emphasis was placed on the physical needs of the individuals and maintaining a system of order within the hospital. The majority of individuals at this time were aged 20 to 40, and ranged in occupation from broom makers to lawyers. Early methods of calming these individuals included the use of hydrotherapy (running cool water over individuals' wrists and ankles to reduce metabolic rate), sensory deprivation chairs (chairs with straps and a hood to be lowered over the individual's head, depriving the person of his senses), twirling chairs (devised to spin individuals in rapid circles in order to separate the "humors" of the brain), and needle cabinets (steel boxes in which individuals sat in while high pressure water was pumped directly onto their skin). Strain jackets and shackles were used to restrain individuals. All of these seemingly cruel tactics served the purpose of preventing individuals from causing physical harm to themselves or others during their psychotic episodes. [[Fulton State Hospital|Click here for more...]] | |
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Revision as of 02:38, 6 July 2015
Featured Article Of The Week
Fulton State Hospital
In 1847, the Missouri General Assembly enacted legislation to establish an asylum for the insane in the central area of the state. This institution was to provide physical care for societal "lunatics." Several counties were encouraged to bid for this institution. Callaway County was able to produce $11,500 and 500 acres of land, thus winning the bid. Fulton State Hospital, the first public mental institution west of the Mississippi River in 1851, admitted its first 67 patients in December.
The original building was three stories high, excluding the basement and attic. It contained 72 rooms and housed the same number of patients. The center of the building was reserved for a patient dining area, and lodging rooms for officers, attendants, and laborers. All employees of the hospital were required to live on the grounds, and had to obtain special permission from the Superintendent in order to leave. The hospital was almost totally self-sufficient at this time. By maintaining sewing rooms, vegetable and straw houses, raising their own food, pumping water from underground wells and streams, and making their own soap, the hospital was similar to a small city, requiring few resources from outside its grounds.
According to State Biennial Reports, several probable causes of mental illness were determined in the first cases admitted. Among the more unusual causes were indigestion, religious anxiety, disappointed love, intense study, and jealousy. Epilepsy and tuberculosis were the two most common causes. As psychiatry was virtually an unexplored field, primary emphasis was placed on the physical needs of the individuals and maintaining a system of order within the hospital. The majority of individuals at this time were aged 20 to 40, and ranged in occupation from broom makers to lawyers. Early methods of calming these individuals included the use of hydrotherapy (running cool water over individuals' wrists and ankles to reduce metabolic rate), sensory deprivation chairs (chairs with straps and a hood to be lowered over the individual's head, depriving the person of his senses), twirling chairs (devised to spin individuals in rapid circles in order to separate the "humors" of the brain), and needle cabinets (steel boxes in which individuals sat in while high pressure water was pumped directly onto their skin). Strain jackets and shackles were used to restrain individuals. All of these seemingly cruel tactics served the purpose of preventing individuals from causing physical harm to themselves or others during their psychotic episodes. Click here for more...
