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

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|Title= Rosewood State Hospital
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|Title= Milwaukee County Asylum
|Image= Rose_wood_1915.jpg
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|Image= wiscmilwaukee.png
 
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|Body= The Maryland Asylum and Training School for Feeble-minded was incorporated by the General Assembly in 1888, and its name was changed by the General Assembly of 1912 to Rosewood State Training School. It is a permanent charitable institution, owned and entirely supported by the State of Maryland.
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|Body= Milwaukee's first mental hospital, known as the Milwaukee County Asylum for the Chronic Insane, opened in 1880 on the County Grounds in Wauwatosa. The state reimbursed the county $1.50 a week for every patient in its care. At the peak of institutionalization in the 1940s and '50s, Milwaukee County housed some 6,000 people with mental illness in several locations. Accommodations were anything but lavish, usually two to a room, sleeping on cots and sharing a sink. There was no psychiatry or meaningful therapy, said Bill Baker, who worked there as an internist. People were basically drugged and warehoused.
  
The movement to establish a training school for feeble-minded patients had its origin largely in the efforts of Dr. Richard Gundry, then superintendent of the Spring Grove State Hospital, who in several reports called the attention of the state to the great need of doing something for the care and training of feeble-minded children. In consequence of his initiative, much interest was developed in several public-spirited philanthropists, among whom were Dr. J. Pembroke Thom, Gen. Herman Stump and Milton G. Urner. A small appropriation was obtained to establish such a school in the former residence of Dr. Wood, of the Navy, near Owings Mills, known as Rosewood. The first superintendent was Miss Martha M. Gundry, a daughter of Dr. Gundry, who, with a single teacher, opened the school in a small way in 1888. Miss Gundry continued in responsible charge for several years, and resigned to establish a school in Virginia. She was succeeded by several medical gentlemen, who held the office for comparatively brief periods. Dr. Thom continued much interested, and two of the cottages, Pembroke and Thom, bear his name. Gen. Herman Stump and Milton G. Urner are still connected with the board. Later the full development of the institution resulted in the appointment of Dr. F. W. Keating, who has been responsible for its work for the past 16 years.  [[Rosewood State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
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There were three wards at what we then called the Milwaukee County Infirmary when I, B. Hanson, worked in the Activity Department in the late 1970's; two wards for men and one for women. There were 60 residents to a ward. Their beds were about 4 feet apart, with a nightstand for personal effects.
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The activities department was run by OT professionals. There were dexterity and mental projects provided to the residents, as well as field trips, walks outside, arts and crafts and basic education for them to keep busy. Teams of all the staff involved, from doctors to the janitor, met monthly to discuss each resident's situation in order to be aware of medical, social or behavioral issues. I remember a discussion with the doctors regarding too much anti-psychotic meds for a resident--I felt his tongue lolling might embarrass him on a bowling excursion in public. The meds were adjusted.  [[Milwaukee County Asylum|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 07:47, 14 May 2017

Featured Article Of The Week

Milwaukee County Asylum


wiscmilwaukee.png

Milwaukee's first mental hospital, known as the Milwaukee County Asylum for the Chronic Insane, opened in 1880 on the County Grounds in Wauwatosa. The state reimbursed the county $1.50 a week for every patient in its care. At the peak of institutionalization in the 1940s and '50s, Milwaukee County housed some 6,000 people with mental illness in several locations. Accommodations were anything but lavish, usually two to a room, sleeping on cots and sharing a sink. There was no psychiatry or meaningful therapy, said Bill Baker, who worked there as an internist. People were basically drugged and warehoused.

There were three wards at what we then called the Milwaukee County Infirmary when I, B. Hanson, worked in the Activity Department in the late 1970's; two wards for men and one for women. There were 60 residents to a ward. Their beds were about 4 feet apart, with a nightstand for personal effects.

The activities department was run by OT professionals. There were dexterity and mental projects provided to the residents, as well as field trips, walks outside, arts and crafts and basic education for them to keep busy. Teams of all the staff involved, from doctors to the janitor, met monthly to discuss each resident's situation in order to be aware of medical, social or behavioral issues. I remember a discussion with the doctors regarding too much anti-psychotic meds for a resident--I felt his tongue lolling might embarrass him on a bowling excursion in public. The meds were adjusted. Click here for more...