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

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|Title= Dorothea Dix Hospital
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|Title= Benton State Hospital
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|Image= Benton.jpg
 
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|Body= In the autumn of 1848 when Dorothea Lynde Dix came to North Carolina, attitudes toward mental illness in this state, like the scanty facilities, remained generally quite primitive. Nevertheless, the North Carolina Legislature was not unaware of the concept of a state hospital for the mentally ill. Earlier in 1825 a resolution had been passed requesting information needed to plan for the establishment of a "lunatic asylum". Nothing came of it then, and again in 1838-1839 action stirred in this regard with no concrete results. In 1844, Governor Morehead strongly recommended that the state build institutions for the unfortunate insane, blind and deaf; but the issue died without positive action. So things stood still in the fall of 1848 with Delaware and North Carolina remaining the two states of the original thirteen which had no state institution for the mentally ill.
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|Body= By 1928, Arkansas State Hospital was seriously overcrowded and in 1929 the legislature authorized creation of a new facility. Land for the new unit of the State Hospital was purchased on Highway 67 approximately five miles southwest of Benton. The first buildings were completed in 1931. In 1934, the State secured a WPA loan and the work was completed with 16 buildings ready for occupancy in 1935. The first patient was admitted to the Benton Unit on June 7., 1936. It soon became evident that the 16 dormitories were inadequate and so a 352 bed capacity building (Bldg 67) was completed on October 29, 1947. In April 1951, another new building with 400 ward beds and 60 infirmary beds (Bldg 70) was completed.
  
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Dorothea toured North Carolina. The conditions for the mentally ill that she found in 36 North Carolina counties were much the same as in other states, ranging from extremely poor to above average, with a census of about a thousand mentally ill in jails, poorhouses and private homes. She returned to Raleigh and compiled the information she had gathered into a "memorial" which she hoped to present to the legislature.
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The 1957 Legislature authorized the State Hospital to cease all farming operations. The stock, timber, etc., were disposed of and the patients were transferred to Benton. In 1962, a joint rehabilitative project was initiated at the Benton Unit. Building 7 was remodeled to house the project which was designed to screen all State Hospital patients for Rehabilitative potential. The program was started in May 1962 with one building, 8 employees, and 30 chronic patients. In about 1965, Building 18 was completed and the administrative staff of the Rehabilitation Services moved into it.
  
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The report submitted to the legislature was a county-by-county report on her findings. She emphasized the need to remove the insane from jails for their own benefit and that of other inmates. Dorothea had a practical approach as well as an idealistic one. She listed costs in other states and economies that had been achieved. She recommended "moderate employment, moderate exercise" among the approaches to the treatment of the mentally ill, along with specifics of buildings and equipment.[[Dorothea Dix Hospital|Click here for more...]]
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The 1961 Legislature appropriated $6,000,000 for the construction of new buildings at the Little Rock State Hospital to replace the old buildings. Construction started in 1963. Until that time, all admissions of patients had been to the Little Rock Hospital where they were evaluated. Chronic and elderly patients were transferred to the Benton Unit. Since the new buildings would not have the bed capacity of the old buildings, it was decided to open an admission office at the Benton Unit. The admission office was opened July 1, 1963. [[Benton State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 03:27, 31 October 2011

Featured Article Of The Week

Benton State Hospital


Benton.jpg

By 1928, Arkansas State Hospital was seriously overcrowded and in 1929 the legislature authorized creation of a new facility. Land for the new unit of the State Hospital was purchased on Highway 67 approximately five miles southwest of Benton. The first buildings were completed in 1931. In 1934, the State secured a WPA loan and the work was completed with 16 buildings ready for occupancy in 1935. The first patient was admitted to the Benton Unit on June 7., 1936. It soon became evident that the 16 dormitories were inadequate and so a 352 bed capacity building (Bldg 67) was completed on October 29, 1947. In April 1951, another new building with 400 ward beds and 60 infirmary beds (Bldg 70) was completed.

The 1957 Legislature authorized the State Hospital to cease all farming operations. The stock, timber, etc., were disposed of and the patients were transferred to Benton. In 1962, a joint rehabilitative project was initiated at the Benton Unit. Building 7 was remodeled to house the project which was designed to screen all State Hospital patients for Rehabilitative potential. The program was started in May 1962 with one building, 8 employees, and 30 chronic patients. In about 1965, Building 18 was completed and the administrative staff of the Rehabilitation Services moved into it.

The 1961 Legislature appropriated $6,000,000 for the construction of new buildings at the Little Rock State Hospital to replace the old buildings. Construction started in 1963. Until that time, all admissions of patients had been to the Little Rock Hospital where they were evaluated. Chronic and elderly patients were transferred to the Benton Unit. Since the new buildings would not have the bed capacity of the old buildings, it was decided to open an admission office at the Benton Unit. The admission office was opened July 1, 1963. Click here for more...

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