Editing Rockland State Hospital
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| alt = Rockland State Hospital | | alt = Rockland State Hospital | ||
| caption = | | caption = | ||
| − | | established = | + | | established = |
| construction_began = 1927 | | construction_began = 1927 | ||
| construction_ended = | | construction_ended = | ||
| − | | opened = | + | | opened = |
| closed = | | closed = | ||
| demolished = | | demolished = | ||
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| building_style = [[Cottage Planned Institutions|Cottage Plan]] | | building_style = [[Cottage Planned Institutions|Cottage Plan]] | ||
| architect(s) = | | architect(s) = | ||
| − | | location = | + | | location = |
| − | | architecture_style = | + | | architecture_style = |
| peak_patient_population = | | peak_patient_population = | ||
| − | | alternate_names = | + | | alternate_names = |
| − | + | Rockland Psychiatric Center | |
}} | }} | ||
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"Much of the staff was drafted during World War II and replaced with nonqualified workers," Sara Fisher, a junior studying psychology at Marymount, said. "Beds were placed in day rooms; infections spread, and there was just one psychologist to care for each 300 patients." | "Much of the staff was drafted during World War II and replaced with nonqualified workers," Sara Fisher, a junior studying psychology at Marymount, said. "Beds were placed in day rooms; infections spread, and there was just one psychologist to care for each 300 patients." | ||
| − | By 1959, the peak year for admittance, Rockland had more than 9,000 residents (including a staff of 2,000). The students, some of whom plan to pursue careers in mental health, studied the history of treating mental illness through archival research and first-hand interviews. At Rockland, insulin shock therapy was begun in 1937, followed by electroshock treatment and lobotomies. The students appeared visibly affected by seeing and handling some of the surgical instruments, all used, their teachers told them, not out of cruelty but as part of what was then considered state-of-the-art treatment | + | By 1959, the peak year for admittance, Rockland had more than 9,000 residents (including a staff of 2,000). The students, some of whom plan to pursue careers in mental health, studied the history of treating mental illness through archival research and first-hand interviews. At Rockland, insulin shock therapy was begun in 1937, followed by electroshock treatment and lobotomies. The students appeared visibly affected by seeing and handling some of the surgical instruments, all used, their teachers told them, not out of cruelty but as part of what was then considered state-of-the-art treatment. |
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"In the early years there was very little anesthetic used," Loraine Milosevic, a Marymount junior, said. "They didn't even have teeth clamps to prevent those patients getting lobotomies from biting their tongues." The students learned about treatments for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, ranging from hydrotherapy ( placing a patient into freezing water in a bathtub to calm the person) to repainting the institution's walls to affect the patient's psyche. (Pink, it turned out, is the most soothing color and today is found in almost all hospitals.) | "In the early years there was very little anesthetic used," Loraine Milosevic, a Marymount junior, said. "They didn't even have teeth clamps to prevent those patients getting lobotomies from biting their tongues." The students learned about treatments for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, ranging from hydrotherapy ( placing a patient into freezing water in a bathtub to calm the person) to repainting the institution's walls to affect the patient's psyche. (Pink, it turned out, is the most soothing color and today is found in almost all hospitals.) | ||
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Since the 1970's, Rockland Psychiatric Center has served mainly as an outpatient hospital and today houses fewer than 600 patients, primarily the most seriously ill. With the advent of new psychotropic drugs and vocational training, many patients with schizophrenia and manic depression who had been institutionalized are now able to live independently so long as they take medication.<ref>New York Times article: ''[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D06E4D7153FF930A35752C0A96F958260 Changes In Mental Care],'' January 3, 1999 By DONNA CORNACHIO</ref> | Since the 1970's, Rockland Psychiatric Center has served mainly as an outpatient hospital and today houses fewer than 600 patients, primarily the most seriously ill. With the advent of new psychotropic drugs and vocational training, many patients with schizophrenia and manic depression who had been institutionalized are now able to live independently so long as they take medication.<ref>New York Times article: ''[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D06E4D7153FF930A35752C0A96F958260 Changes In Mental Care],'' January 3, 1999 By DONNA CORNACHIO</ref> | ||
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== Images of Rockland State Hospital == | == Images of Rockland State Hospital == | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
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[[Category:Active Institution]] | [[Category:Active Institution]] | ||
[[Category:Cottage Plan]] | [[Category:Cottage Plan]] | ||
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:New York]] |
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