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Featured Article Of The Week

Missouri State Sanatorium


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Missouri Rehabilitation Center was originally established as the Missouri State Sanatorium in 1907 to treat tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (TB), also known as the "White Plague," was a major health problem. A diagnosis of tuberculosis often meant impending death and the only known treatment for it was fresh air, sunshine, nutrition and bed rest. To keep the disease from spreading, patients were isolated from society. Thus the Missouri Legislature appropriated $50,000 to establish a sanatorium.

A board of five people was appointed to build a brick or stone facility, capable of future enlargement, at a site at least 1,000 feet above sea level. Chigger Hill in Mt. Vernon met all the requirements. The site had available water, an abundance of shade trees, and was adaptable to support agricultural and dairy needs. To secure its selection, the city offered the state approximately 60 acres of land, a cash donation of $3,000. The city agreed to furnish water, electricity and telephone service for the first five years. The first building, Gupton Villa, was erected at a cost of $20,000. The first patient was admitted Aug. 17, 1907.

The plan called for a total of 12 buildings to be grouped in the form of a Maltese cross, eight of the buildings were to house patients with the remaining ones to be used for administration and support services. Diagnosis of tuberculosis took six to eight weeks and because there were no medications to treat the disease, patients confined to the sanatorium spent months or years away from home. Reinfection was common and often necessitated a return to the hospital. Click here for more...