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[[image:Eloise34.png|thumb|200px|left]] | [[image:Eloise34.png|thumb|200px|left]] | ||
− | Eloise grew into a city unto itself. Its | + | Eloise grew into a city unto itself. Its 75 buildings included a fire department, 15-man police force, powerhouses, a cannery, bakery and fruit cellar, a sewage disposal plant a morgue, laundry facilities; a library and low-rent employee lodgings. Nearly 20 percent of the staff lived on the grounds. |
− | In 1945, Eloise was renamed Wayne County General Hospital and Infirmary. The new name was intended to reflect the modern "scientific" approaches to caring for the poor and mentally ill that had been | + | In 1945, Eloise was renamed Wayne County General Hospital and Infirmary. The new name was intended to reflect the modern "scientific" approaches to caring for the poor and mentally ill that had been institued at the facility. Most, however, continued to refer to the facility as Eloise. |
By the 1950's Wayne County General was considered one of the best hospitals in the nation. It played a major part in metro Detroit's health network. It was the only acute-care medical and surgical hospital between Detroit and Ypsilanti. Needy patients would have died without Wayne County General. A reporter who toured the facility in 1953 was moved by the "pitiful cases" -- "the senile, the spastics, the polio victims and those with advanced multiple sclerosis." By the '50s, patients were benefiting from insulin and electric shock therapy, psychotherapy by psychiatrists and occupational and recreational therapy. Occupational therapy included farming, sewing, work in the hospital laundry and maintenance departments. Recreational therapy included classes in handiwork and a special division of music therapy. | By the 1950's Wayne County General was considered one of the best hospitals in the nation. It played a major part in metro Detroit's health network. It was the only acute-care medical and surgical hospital between Detroit and Ypsilanti. Needy patients would have died without Wayne County General. A reporter who toured the facility in 1953 was moved by the "pitiful cases" -- "the senile, the spastics, the polio victims and those with advanced multiple sclerosis." By the '50s, patients were benefiting from insulin and electric shock therapy, psychotherapy by psychiatrists and occupational and recreational therapy. Occupational therapy included farming, sewing, work in the hospital laundry and maintenance departments. Recreational therapy included classes in handiwork and a special division of music therapy. | ||
− | Throughout its boom years, when the complex was caring for as many as | + | Throughout its boom years, when the complex was caring for as many as 8,000 patients daily, the facility was plagued by reports of patient beatings, employee theft, mismanagement, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding. At one time 3,800 mental patients -- including 300 with tuberculosis -- were crammed into quarters designed for 2,500. As many as 125 women had to share five toilets. |
By 1955 money problems had become acute. George E. Gullen Jr., chairman of the Wayne County chapter of the Michigan Society of Mental Health, figured that on a per patient basis, Wayne General was "the most expensive mental hospital in the world." The county continually sought ways to cut costs. One auditor questioned the practice of buying false teeth at $100 a set for indigent TB patients, after noting that $6,500 had been spent on dentures in one six-month period. | By 1955 money problems had become acute. George E. Gullen Jr., chairman of the Wayne County chapter of the Michigan Society of Mental Health, figured that on a per patient basis, Wayne General was "the most expensive mental hospital in the world." The county continually sought ways to cut costs. One auditor questioned the practice of buying false teeth at $100 a set for indigent TB patients, after noting that $6,500 had been spent on dentures in one six-month period. | ||
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As patient treatment was updated , so were the facilities. Older buildings were razed in the '60s and '70s and two new buildings were constructed -- a 511-bed medical hospital in 1962 and a long term care facility in 1974. The Walter Reuther Long Term Care Facility housed the surviving mentally ill and poor who had made Eloise their permanent home. | As patient treatment was updated , so were the facilities. Older buildings were razed in the '60s and '70s and two new buildings were constructed -- a 511-bed medical hospital in 1962 and a long term care facility in 1974. The Walter Reuther Long Term Care Facility housed the surviving mentally ill and poor who had made Eloise their permanent home. | ||
− | By 1987, six years after the facility's closing, Eloise had been reduced to eight buildings. Today, only a | + | By 1987, six years after the facility's closing, Eloise had been reduced to eight buildings. Today, only a few buildings remain and all are empty. The county is currently working on a plan to redevelop the complex. The "D" building houses some Wayne County offices and several other smaller buildings remain. <ref>[http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=106/ Detroit News]</ref>In November 2015, the Detroit Free Press reported that the 50-acre complex was put on sale for $1.5 million – which includes an fire station from the 1800s, a decommissioned power plant and two maintenance buildings. On March 29th, 2016 the former bakery building built in 1905, one of the last original buildings, was the victim of arson. The damage was enough to have the structure demolished. |
== Images of Eloise Asylum == | == Images of Eloise Asylum == | ||
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file:Eloise20.png | file:Eloise20.png | ||
file:Eloise21.png | file:Eloise21.png | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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==Cemetery== | ==Cemetery== | ||
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==Books== | ==Books== | ||
− | '' | + | ''Eloise, Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum, and Hospital 1839 - 1984'' Patricia Ibbotson |
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==Links== | ==Links== | ||
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[[Category:Asylum Books]] | [[Category:Asylum Books]] | ||
[[Category:Institution With A Cemetery]] | [[Category:Institution With A Cemetery]] | ||
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[[Category:Past Featured Article Of The Week]] | [[Category:Past Featured Article Of The Week]] |