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

From Asylum Projects
Jump to: navigation, search
(156 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{FAformat
 
{{FAformat
|Title= Connecticut State Hospital
+
|Title= San Antonio State Hospital
|Image= Connecticut_SH_PC.jpg
+
|Image= SanAntonioTX_SH_PC_01_WEBEDIT.jpg
 
|Width= 150px
 
|Width= 150px
|Body= Mrs. Catherine Winslow, the first woman employed at the Maine Insane Hospital, was appointed matron when the asylum opened in 1840. The asylum was the product of a collaborative effort between the state and two private citizens, Reuel Williams of Augusta (married to Sarah Cony) and Benjamin Brown of Vassalborough. While early mental health institutions may fall far short of present-day standards for treatment for mental illness, the establishment of such places in the early nineteenth century was based, in part, on reforming care for the mentally ill.
+
|Body= In 1889 the Texas legislature passed a bill establishing a state mental institution to serve Southwest Texas. The new facility was to occupy at least 640 acres and be capable of housing 500 patients. It was to be known as the Southwestern Insane Asylum (not the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum, as it has sometimes been called). A site was selected five miles south of San Antonio and $200,000 was appropriated for the new hospital. The facility began operation on April 6, 1892 with a capacity of 200 patients.
  
Prior to mental health hospitals, the mentally ill were the responsibility of their families, and if their families could not cope, they were either put in poor houses, put out on the streets, or locked away in jail. Mental health reformer Dorothea Dix (1802-1887), a native of Hampden, Maine, worked closely with the second superintendent of the Augusta asylum, Issac Ray (appointed in 1841). The building was state-of-the-art when constructed. All parts had ventilation, lighting, heating, and water. Men and women had separate wings.
+
In the first eight months of operation the patient population grew to 142. By August 23, 1894, there were 225 patients. Provisions for 300 more patients were authorized when $70,000 was appropriated in 1898, and in 1910, $100,000 was voted for expansion to accommodate an additional 300. This addition consisted of one wing each on the male and female departments and two buildings for tubercular. The improvements were completed in 1910 and the hospital could then accommodate 1,000 patients. In 1911 another appropriation of $45,000 was given to construct a building for 100 men, providing care to acute cases and all those who require extra attention. By 1912 the facilities could accommodate 1,140, and improvements were valued at $500,000. By 1915 the hospital's capacity was 1,800. In 1917 a training school for nurses in psychiatry was begun. This school, the only one of its kind in the state system, continued with a three-year course until 1942. [[San Antonio State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
Over its 162 years of service, the hospital has carried a number of names and today it is called the Augusta Mental Health Institute. Many buildings on the campus now serve as state offices. A new hospital,Riverview Psychiatric Center, was opened in 2004 to replace the facility.   [[Connecticut State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
}}
 
}}

Revision as of 03:37, 7 March 2021

Featured Article Of The Week

San Antonio State Hospital


SanAntonioTX SH PC 01 WEBEDIT.jpg

In 1889 the Texas legislature passed a bill establishing a state mental institution to serve Southwest Texas. The new facility was to occupy at least 640 acres and be capable of housing 500 patients. It was to be known as the Southwestern Insane Asylum (not the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum, as it has sometimes been called). A site was selected five miles south of San Antonio and $200,000 was appropriated for the new hospital. The facility began operation on April 6, 1892 with a capacity of 200 patients.

In the first eight months of operation the patient population grew to 142. By August 23, 1894, there were 225 patients. Provisions for 300 more patients were authorized when $70,000 was appropriated in 1898, and in 1910, $100,000 was voted for expansion to accommodate an additional 300. This addition consisted of one wing each on the male and female departments and two buildings for tubercular. The improvements were completed in 1910 and the hospital could then accommodate 1,000 patients. In 1911 another appropriation of $45,000 was given to construct a building for 100 men, providing care to acute cases and all those who require extra attention. By 1912 the facilities could accommodate 1,140, and improvements were valued at $500,000. By 1915 the hospital's capacity was 1,800. In 1917 a training school for nurses in psychiatry was begun. This school, the only one of its kind in the state system, continued with a three-year course until 1942. Click here for more...