Pennhurst Asylum was the 2nd of it's kind in the United States, building started in 1903 in two groups, one would be educational and industrial department, and one for the custodial or asylum department. The first patient was taken in on November 23rd, 1908. During this time there were 14 buildings with 112 acres, holding up to 500 patients calling the institution: Eastern Pennsylvania Institution for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic which changed to Pennhurst State School. The school was to reform and help patients to learn and adapt to a normal life which they could live on their own after being there. Just four years later the school was at 1200 people and needing more buildings, the school expanded to 20 buildings and 1400 acres of land, building a hospital and on-site housing for staff, including a playground and recreation yard. The school became a self-contained city where residents maintained everything themselves.
1913- Legislators passed the care of Feeble-Minds Act- states those that are disabled are unfit to live in society and shall be taken into custodial care away from the public for safety and stop reproduction. Not giving extra funding to handle the influx or need for extra housing, this started the chain of issues that years will cause.
1918- Eugenics- The concept given by a social movement of beliefs that removal of mentally handicap or disabilied people will stop the genetics which causes such issues. Basically stating that to form a perfect person must be done by selective breeding and starilization. Removing those that are not able to due so, will slowly whip-out the defects, and stop the reproduction. Society took this very seriously and started sending anyone with a disability to asylums, which caused a massive influx of patients. People with even the most minor issues such as being: deaf, blind, or imperfect speech, were sent.
Patients by 1921- A hospital was build on the ground of Pennhurst and anyone unable to function in society had been sent here for treatment. The state allowed anyone physically or mentally unable to meet society standards to be committed and those with offensive habits could be isolated. When taken into care, patients were demeeded: Physically either- imbasil or insane; Mentally either- healthly or epileptic; Dental either- good, poor or treated. Dorms were built which allowed the seperation of treatment of patients, a women's ward and those of low functioning were seperated from those of high functioning.
1955- Pennhurst hit it's peak of patients topping out at approx. 3,500, but no new buildings were added, nor proper funding for the extreme over-population, which was 3x the expected need. Now allowing Immigrants and criminals demend insane, they were added to the population. Due to this, legislators approved 2 new campuses to be built, to decrease the patient over-load.
1967- There was a small decrease of 636 patients at Pennhurst but still held 2,864, that's still 2x the ability of the facility. The USA during this time had 193,188 people inside institutions, Pennsylvania had 6, 139 state-wide and Pennhurst itself had 47% of that in its facility.
The Issues- Over these years of over-population neglect for buildings, patients care, medical and psychological supplies increased. The expectation when the campus opened was to care for an average of 500 patients at a rate $5.90 a day. When the over-flowing patients came at an alarming rate, increasing every year, the $5.90 broke down to facility care, staff cost and supplies at $4.25, leaving .75 for actual food and basic needs. Leaving residents to one meal a day for everyone to be fed. Many patients only recieved 10 minutes actual psychological treatment! At the time, there was 2 staff per 80 patients, unable to care for everyone, there was an extreme issue with the basic care, including bathing and changing of bodily fluids on clothing and bedding. The smell, as told by visitors/staff, was over-whelming with feces and pee on the floor and beds. It was not the facility itselves fault, the staff did everything they could to help, but with no funding increases, the building fell into dispare as well as the people there. After staff and the facility receiving no help there was little they could do to properly assist patients. The superintendents requested funding increases to allow staff at 1,000 more to be hired, this was the number actually needed, when they were only at 250 at the time. Understanding this drastic number different we can understand how hard it was to actual properly assist their patients. Even the need for medical supplies grew on deaf ears!
1968- The first world view of the conditions of Pennhurst were seen: Bill Baldini did a 5 part documentary called "Suffer Little Children" on CBS. It was not the first exposer of the conditions, newpapers wrote articles all the time, but this was the first live-air viewing. This documentary showed everyone the lack of staff, the living conditions and how lack of funds were damaging the care of the patients. Baldini interviewed a doctor by the name of Dr. Fear- who admitted to giving drugs to patients to keep them sedated for control and not treatment, as well as using isolation therapy on them as punishment. Many people realized the conditions of the patients inside were horrible prior to the newscast, but video spoke more to them then reading about it. No matter the demand for reform or disgust of the States disregard for funding, nothing changed.
1974- By this year the average age of the residents are 36 years old and dispite this fact, all residents were called children, using this term for their small minds and lack of ability to take care of themselves. On May 30- A mother of a patient at Pennhurst files rights case Halderman v. Pennhurst State School. Some of the claims within the case were:
Restraints used as control measures due to under-staffing... ranging from binding the arms and legs to beds and chairs/ seculsion rooms/ drugs which tranquilize the patient to be calm.
Abuse patient to patient
Abuse from staff to patient
Environment is hazadous both physically and mentally due to lack of upkeep and care.
Lack of education and treatment
Physical deterioration and intellectual and behavioral regression
The court came back in favor of the patients, deeming the conditions dangerous and a miserable environment for its residents. Stating that many of them actually suffered physical deterioration and intellectual regression. The judge stated that 3 rights were violated: Residents basic needs were not met, they must be kept free from harm, and non-discriminatory rehabilitation. Lastly, he stated that upon closer suitable living arrangments must be given to all residents, whether turned over to family or another facility. It still took 10 years for the court and plantiffs to settle and agree that Pennhurst would be closed, which was finalized in 1985.
1987- It took two years for all patients and paperwork to be sent over for proper care. 0n July 6th, the last piece of paperwork was completed and the doors were perminently closed. In September the newer buildings and cottages were turned into the SE PA Veteran's Home. Portion of the upper campus is given to the PA National guard for use as an armory.
Over the next 15 years the property was sold off and plans grow for multiple things. In February of 2008 Pennhurst "lower campus" sold to Pennhurst Associates for $2 million and Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance (PM&PA) formed to advocate for the sensitive re-use of the site and it's history. Preservation and Coalitions have worked to maintain the site ever since. Allowing it to become a historical site of September of the same year!
2010- Pennhurst is turned into a haunted attraction, dispite the claims of false tales told, the owner of the attraction has not changed the way they portray the institutions history.
The False Truths-
Labotomy procedures performed, which is 100% false, Pennhurst was actually progressive, never using the procedure as a "treatment" method. Instead, they were medical board approved for educational and non-aggressive plans, using styles of repetition and socialization methods to teach patients healthy living habits. The staff would create language boards with pictures to help teach recognition for non-verbal residents, teaching self-determination skills and helping develop skill-sets for a functional living
Staff purposely abused, neglected and did not care about basic needs. Again 100% false, yes bad things did happen, abuse did occur, but it happen VERY rarely out of lack of care. Many of these staff members had no idea what to do when they were under-staffed, over-whelmed and no one in the State Legislation were listening to their needs for more funding. Restraints were used, children were kept in cages, and cleanliness was a major problem! But, at a rate of 2 staff to 80 or more patients, there was no possible way to handle the situations during the over-population at the time.
Pennhurst turned it's back on patients and allowed a Dr. to do horrible things for experimentation. No staff or the superintendent just said; "...here is people with issues, deemed untreatable, go toy with them and see what happens." Dr. Fear did use drugs to sedate patients to make them easily maintainable, everyone agrees this was improper use of the drugs. He also used segration as a means of punishment for bad behavior- many times taking a high functioning person and placing them in lower functioning housing. But, there was never electroshock therapy, waterboarding, or anything mind-triggering related. The worst of all the things that happen to an aggressive patient was that they would remove their teeth if they continued to bite staff.
_Closing_
It seems that TV and Media only bring negativity and evil to such places as Pennhurst to boost ratings or make a buck.... when the truth is that these people were let down by their own government. The State only gave enough money to maintain the facility when it first open and instead of funding it by basis of population each year, they bandaid it with opening 2 other facilities years too late, and then never looked back till a Mother stood against them. By this time the damage was fair to over-done and it was shut down.... were if the State had listened to years of people speaking up, begging for more money and assistance, many patients would have learned skills and been possibly able to live on their own over time. It wasn't from lack of caring, it wasn't fun abuse, and it sure wasn't from lack of trying, that these horrible situations occured. The facility may have spirits there, yes, but exploting them as a false laboratory experiment is wrong. These people lived horribly because of the lack of money; causing lack of assistance, supplies and staff!
For more information go to the Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance webpage: http://www.preservepennhurst.org/default.aspx?pg=6
Comentarios