Introduction of Inpatient Mental Health Hospitals in History
Mental health is an ever-evolving field that, in recent years, has seen a shift towards greater inpatient care.
Inpatient mental health facilities, commonly referred to as mental hospitals or psychiatric wards, are increasingly relied upon to treat individuals with severe psychological disorders.
However, these facilities have also been viewed as places where people who do not fit into society’s expectations can be hidden away from public view.
Let’s take a look at the first inpatient mental health facilities.
Bellevue Hospital
1736 – Bellevue Hospital in New York City is the oldest publicly funded hospital in the country. It opened its first psychiatric ward in 1879 and then its alcoholic ward in 1892.
For decades everyone knew of Bellevue as an inpatient psychiatric care facility. It was even referenced in movies, TV shows, books, etc.
Eventually, the Psychiatric Hospital was passed out and was transformed into a homeless shelter. Now, psychiatric patients are treated in one of the eight inpatient units in the Main Hospital.
Pennsylvania Hospital
1752 – The Newly opened Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had given an area to the Quakers in the basement of the facility to treat the mentally ill. The rooms were limited and came fitted with Shackles on the walls.
This was the precursor to the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, founded in 1856 and closed in 1998. This was a State-funded facility.
Eastern State Hospital
1773 – Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia, is the oldest psychiatric hospital in the country. The hospital is still active today. The hospital was initially opened in the city but was moved to the suburbs in the 20th century.
Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of their Reason
1817 – Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of their Reason, this was the first privet mental health hospital founded by a group of Quakers. It was built on a 52-acre farm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This facility is still operational today; however, they changed the name to Friends Hospital, which is now on 100 acres. The Quakers looked to change the way the mentally ill were viewed. They wanted to provide suitable accommodations and more humane treatment.
The Eastern Lunatic Asylum
1824 – The Eastern Lunatic Asylum was opened in Lexington, Kentucky. This was the first institution that was west of the Appalachian Mountains. This facility is open today, but the name was changed to Eastern State Hospital.
Publicly supported inpatient mental health hospitals.
1890 – By this time in America, every state had one or more publicly supported mental hospitals, and all increased in size as needed to meet the needs of an expanding population. By the mid-20th century, the hospitals housed over 500,000 patients.
However, the need for these facilities diminished as advancements in treatment methods continued. They were not seen as a requirement anymore.
Summary
It doesn’t take a lot to see that the mentally ill have always been viewed as less than desirable citizens, more to the point they weren’t even considered a part of society most of the time. They were third-class citizens at best, with no rights to protect them from abuse, illegal experiments, mutilation, or even death.
The medical treatments were substandard, and the facilities matched that same thought. Filthy, and unsanitary, some resembled torture chambers and jails that were not even fit for prisoners that had been taken into custody because they were not made to meet the same standards as jails.
Conclusion of Inpatient Mental Health Hospitals
This has improved but not to an acceptable level yet, still to this day we have horrible overcrowding, remember I told you that in the mid-20th century “they” (Government Officials) said that we didn’t need so many facilities anymore.
Hence, they were closed, so they got to keep the money they were spending on these useless facilities (which, in some cases, was just on paper that they were sending the funds to these facilities).
Ok, now we are set up to look into the present. So, our next series will be “How are the mentally Ill taken care of today.”
Other articles written by James Maxwell are:
History Of The Fundamentals On Treatments For The Mentally Ill By James Maxwell
A Former Police Officer’s View on Mental Health
How to Stand Beside Someone with Trauma Issues
Being supportive of a significant other with mental/sexual abuse
The post Introducing truths about Inpatient Mental Health Hospitals in History first appeared on Butterflies and Tulips Blog.