← Older revision
Revision as of 04:56, 30 January 2013
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The asylum was on the cutting edge of many forms of treatment. Through its close proximity to town, it was able to establish an innovative outpatient clinic in 1916 as well as a unique "family-care" program that placed patients in certified homes. The hospital also made use of colony farms, adjunct properties on which patients with milder illnesses — and those who today might be considered developmentally delayed — lived in familial farm settings. (One of these was near Kalamazoo's Asylum Lake.) They often raised livestock and produce for use at the hospital. The farms are examples of the limited treatment options for the mentally ill that were available before the 1950s. Electroshock therapy, insulin-induced comas and some barbiturate drugs resulted in limited reversals in thoughts and behavior of patients, he said.
The asylum was on the cutting edge of many forms of treatment. Through its close proximity to town, it was able to establish an innovative outpatient clinic in 1916 as well as a unique "family-care" program that placed patients in certified homes. The hospital also made use of colony farms, adjunct properties on which patients with milder illnesses — and those who today might be considered developmentally delayed — lived in familial farm settings. (One of these was near Kalamazoo's Asylum Lake.) They often raised livestock and produce for use at the hospital. The farms are examples of the limited treatment options for the mentally ill that were available before the 1950s. Electroshock therapy, insulin-induced comas and some barbiturate drugs resulted in limited reversals in thoughts and behavior of patients, he said.
−
Then the world began to change.
Narcoleptic or anti psychotic drugs, such as Thorazine, that would revolutionize psychiatric treatment and the role of psychiatric hospitals in society. Patients who had been in the hospital for decades were suddenly responsive, able to care for themselves, and moving back to live with their families. By 1987, the number of patients had dropped to 550.
+
Narcoleptic or anti psychotic drugs, such as Thorazine, that would revolutionize psychiatric treatment and the role of psychiatric hospitals in society. Patients who had been in the hospital for decades were suddenly responsive, able to care for themselves, and moving back to live with their families. By 1987, the number of patients had dropped to 550
.By 1959 the State Hospital had a patient load of 3,500 and 900 staff that included doctors, nurses, attendants and service personnel. It became almost a city in its own right with a power plant, water system, bakery, laundry, library, canteen, garage, cannery, general kitchen and greenhouse. For many years the hospital was one of the largest employers in Kalamazoo
.
[[image:Kzoo7.png|thumb|200px|left]]
[[image:Kzoo7.png|thumb|200px|left]]
−
In response
to
a 1963 congressional joint commission on mental health, states
began
looking at ways
to
dismantle large psychiatric hospitals in favor of
a
community
-
based mental health system
.
Michigan established its mental health code
in
1974. With these medical
and
social changes
, the
Kalamazoo hospital began
to
literally recede on
the
community horizon
.
Buildings were closed
,
then razed. The hospital campus was once home
to
almost 80 buildings
.
Today
,
fewer than a dozen buildings exist
.
+
Increased budget cuts by the state and improved treatment methods and medication for patients led
to
an inevitable decline in patient population. The hospital
began to
shrink, dropping steadily from
a
high of 3,500 patients in 1954
-
1955
.
Then
in
1973, new treatment measures, such as rapid screening
and
intensive treatment
,
and early release into
the
community for other local agencies
to
take over, shrank
the
patient population even more
.
In 1980
,
the facility started laying off 88 employees and releasing 160 patients in response
to
the bare bones budget provided by the state
.
Finally
,
in 2000, then-Governor John Engler's administration decimated the state-run psychiatric hospitals in favor of community-based care at private agencies and hospitals
.
−
Today (2008) there are only 2 original buildings still standing on the campus. The water tower was constructed in 1895 and quickly became a local landmark. It played prominently in the history of the city. The other is the "gate cottage" situated near Oakland Drive at the entrance to the hospital grounds. The gatehouse is "carpenter gothic" in style, featuring board and batten siding, a steep roof and "gingerbread" ornamentation. The house has been furnished with Victorian furniture and serves as a museum. When first built, it was used as the porter's residence and later housed a dozen women patients for a time.
+
Just a ghost of its former self, the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital now has turned over most of its holdings on Oakland Drive to Western Michigan University, which has developed it as a health care corridor and research facilities, as well as the home of its current School of Nursing.
Today (2008) there are only 2 original buildings still standing on the campus. The water tower was constructed in 1895 and quickly became a local landmark. It played prominently in the history of the city. The other is the "gate cottage" situated near Oakland Drive at the entrance to the hospital grounds. The gatehouse is "carpenter gothic" in style, featuring board and batten siding, a steep roof and "gingerbread" ornamentation. The house has been furnished with Victorian furniture and serves as a museum. When first built, it was used as the porter's residence and later housed a dozen women patients for a time.
==Timeline==
==Timeline==
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==Links==
==Links==
−
[http://www.wmich.edu/asylumlake/pics/hospital/ History & photos]
−
[http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/kalamazoo/ Info @ Kirkbridebuildings.com]
[http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/kalamazoo/ Info @ Kirkbridebuildings.com]