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

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|Title= Eastern State Hospital Lexington
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|Title= Bangor State Hospital
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|Body= On February 15, 1816, the Kentucky General Assembly passed an act establishing a public hospital in Fayette County. The act incorporated a group of citizens, the “Contributors of the Fayette Hospital,” who wished to erect a building at their own expense to serve as a hospital for the accommodation of “lunatics” as well as other “sick poor.” The act gave the Contributors the right to establish a committee, elect officers, raise money to purchase a piece of land in or near Lexington, and to contract for the construction of a building to serve as the hospital (An act for founding, 1816). The Contributors meet on March 1, 1816 and elected a building committee consisting of Andrew McCalla, Sterling Allen, Stephen Chipley, Thomas January,and Richard Higgins. McCalla was appointed chairman (Fayette Hospital, 1816). In an open letter in the Kentucky Reporter on April 17, 1816, the Committee presented their mission and asked for assistance. They noted that there were many “poor, disabled, and infirm members of society” without the aid of medicine who with the assistance that could be provided by a “Public Hospital,” might become useful to themselves, their families, and society. They also noted that “lunatics,” who have no “rich relatives” to care for them, “roam at large through the country...” and in many instances “endanger the lives of other members of society.” The best remedy, they suggested, was the erection of a public hospital. They argued that the hospital was not only their best chance at a cure but also a means by which physicians could acquire “superior skill” by treating them. Finally, they declared that “society itself would be made more secure against the wild and desperate actions of lunatics, if provision was made to contain them within its walls.” The Committee concluded the letter by requesting that “ALL” people of Kentucky contribute to the support of the hospital (To the people of Kentucky, 1816).  [[Eastern State Hospital Lexington|Click here for more...]]
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|Body= The Eastern Maine Insane Hospital was opened on July 1, 1901. It was built on a pastoral hill named 'Hepatica Hill' for its flowers overlooking the city of Bangor and the Penobscot River. Pine trees were planted around all of the driveways on the campus and have since grown to enormous sizes.
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Within five days of opening in 1901, 145 patients were transferred from the Maine Insane Hospital in Augusta to the Bangor location. Patients were generally committed to the hospital by their community peers, such as town selectmen, family, etc.
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Patients worked the fields, raised livestock, manned the laundry, sewing room and kitchen as part of their "treatment." This made the hospital self-sufficient and any excesses were sold at market to pay additional costs, until 1973 when the case of Sonder vs. Brennan went to court and it was determined that patients in public institutions could not work without being paid.
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The name of the hospital changed in 1913 to Bangor State Hospital and then eventually to Bangor Mental Health Institute in the early 70's. The highest patient census was in 1970 with 1,200 patients; however, with a concerted downsizing effort in the 70's, the census fell to 470 in 1974. There were approximately 300 patients through much of the 80's.  [[Bangor State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 04:06, 5 April 2020

Featured Article Of The Week

Bangor State Hospital


Bangor1.png

The Eastern Maine Insane Hospital was opened on July 1, 1901. It was built on a pastoral hill named 'Hepatica Hill' for its flowers overlooking the city of Bangor and the Penobscot River. Pine trees were planted around all of the driveways on the campus and have since grown to enormous sizes.

Within five days of opening in 1901, 145 patients were transferred from the Maine Insane Hospital in Augusta to the Bangor location. Patients were generally committed to the hospital by their community peers, such as town selectmen, family, etc.

Patients worked the fields, raised livestock, manned the laundry, sewing room and kitchen as part of their "treatment." This made the hospital self-sufficient and any excesses were sold at market to pay additional costs, until 1973 when the case of Sonder vs. Brennan went to court and it was determined that patients in public institutions could not work without being paid.

The name of the hospital changed in 1913 to Bangor State Hospital and then eventually to Bangor Mental Health Institute in the early 70's. The highest patient census was in 1970 with 1,200 patients; however, with a concerted downsizing effort in the 70's, the census fell to 470 in 1974. There were approximately 300 patients through much of the 80's. Click here for more...

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