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Fire Kills 38 in Russian Psychiatric Hospital
Psychiatric Hospital No. 14 was a locked facility that housed people with schizophrenia, mental retardation and drug and alcohol addiction. Around half of them took powerful antipsychotic medications at bedtime to help them sleep, officials said. Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, said investigators believed the fire started on a sofa, perhaps by a recovering addict who smoked cigarettes surreptitiously. A nurse woke and tried to evacuate the patients, but was able to lead only one woman, who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, to safety. Another patient left on his own. The remaining 38 died of burns or carbon monoxide poisoning, many still in their beds. Among them, 11 had no known relatives, making DNA identification difficult, said Veronika Skvortsova, Russia’s health minister.
Norristown State Hospital May Auction Two Houses
1712 Sterigere Street and 1732 Sterigere Street are owned by the Department of Public Welfare.
The Public Welfare agency determined that the buildings are “no longer necessary to conduct business at the State Hospital.” These two are among 13 properties proposed in the Commonwealth’s 2013 Real Estate Disposition Plan. If approved by the governor, attorney general and Legislature, the properties would be sold in competitive sealed bids or at public auction. Since 2011, the state has sold 36 properties, saving $5 million in operating expenses and bringing in about $30 million in revenue, according to the state Department of General Services.
Southwestern State Hospital Closing
Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville, Georgia is closing by the end of the year.
The United States Department of Justice along with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Georgia Department of Community Health entered into a settlement that required the state to transition individuals from state hospitals into community-based settings of their choice. Officials say they will work with contract providers to give the almost 600 employees priority when selecting new jobs.
Volunteers Clean Frankfort State Hospital and School Cemetery
On Thursday, forty volunteers cleaned up the cemetery at the Frankfort State Hospital and School or formerly known as the Kentucky Institution for Feeble Minded Children.
Jeff Edwards, federal program coordinator with Kentucky Protection and Advocacy, said the event was about remembrance more than anything. That’s because most people don’t know about those who are buried in the cemetery, which had been mostly abandoned. The volunteers were members of several groups, including the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.
“This is a piece of Kentucky history that no one remembers,” he said. “We know very little about the people who lived here.”
Edwards said 371 of the 411 graves are marked as “unknown” at the cemetery, which is at the intersection of Glenns Creek Road and Cold Harbor Drive.
The hospital and school, formally known as the Kentucky Institute for the Feeble-Minded, opened in 1860 as a place for the disabled. Edwards said the Legislative Research Commission had heard reports of horrible conditions and initiated reforms. Thousands of Kentuckians had stayed there before it closed in 1972.
Mark Newton, of Campbellsville, lived in the institution when he was about 12 years old. He does not have fond memories of the facility. Newton said living there was “not fun at all.” He was in one of the first groups taken out of the home when it was closed.
Heather Bava, who helps Newton with budgeting and grocery shopping, became involved with the cleanup through Newton, but said the cleanup was important because it honored the dead. Bava said it could have easily been Newton who ended up in one of the graves.
“They had a horrible, horrible life,” she said. “It’s really sad to think people were treated this way.”
Christina Bowman, of McKee, also became involved with the event through a woman she helps daily.
“I know if it was me personally, I’d want someone to come out here and clean my grave for me and try to remember me,” she said.
Childhood Memories of Medfield State Hospital
Harry Gardiner wrote about his experience visiting Medfield State Hospital where his father was a psychiatrist.
I first lived at the hospital when I was 2-3 years old (1940-1941), when my father, Dr. Harry M. Gardiner, left to enter the service in World War II and we lived in Ayer, MA. He moved our family back to the MSH in 1946, when I was 8, and we lived there until he passed away in 1951.
My best friends at the hospital were David and Darel Nowers (known to those who couldn’t tell them apart as “the twins”), whose father was the head farmer. They both grew up to become head farmers at two other state hospitals in MA. At this time there were over 2,000 patients and about 500 staff at the hospital. We were never afraid of the patients and didn’t question their often very unusual behavior. That’s just the way it was.
Click the link below to read the rest of Harry Gardiner’s story.
Gardiner would very much like to touch base with anyone who might know him from his time at the State Hospital, people like Peter Stagg, Janet Mezzanotte, Tom Sweeney, and others.
Fergus Falls Demolition Deadline Extended
The Regional Treatment Center’s demolition deadline extension was granted Monday night. It was part of a bonding bill that passed at the state capitol on the Legislature’s final day.
“It passed with overwhelming support,” said Rep. Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls).
The deadline to request reimbursement for up to $5 million in demolition funds is now December 2016, instead of December 2014. Grant funds will not be increased in the proposed legislative action.
“I think it’s a win-win,” Nornes said. “It kind of takes demolition off the table. That’s the ultimate hope, I guess. No guarantees there either, but it sounds like the city has made some really good progress.”
Extensive work on the 107-year-old state Capitol is getting the go-ahead from Minnesota lawmakers in a late financial rescue package.
A borrowing proposal that came together on the Legislature’s final day includes $109 million for the next phase of a renovation to the deteriorating building. The money was needed this year to keep underway construction from halting. A new parking ramp will be authorized, but paid for with fees from users.
The package is the result of high-level negotiations involving majority Democrats and minority Republicans, testament to the supermajority it requires for passage. It cleared both chambers with votes to spare and is on to Gov. Mark Dayton.
Aside from the Capitol project is an $18.9 million award for a new Minneapolis Veterans Home building that will garner a big federal match. There is also $20 million for flood mitigation projects.
Napa State Hospital Book Proposed
The author, archivist Patricia Prestinary, is asking the community to share photos, particularly from the 1970s and ’80s, that capture hospital life before the facility was turned into a medium-security psychiatric facility.
Photos and messages can be submitted to Prestinary at https://www.facebook.com/napastatehospital.imola
Fergus Falls Opens Back up for Tours
The historic Regional Treatment Center (RTC) in fergus falls is opening back up for visitors to get a glimpse of this over one hundred year old state hospital
The RTC was the third state hospital in Minnesota finished in 1890, and housed patients up until 2009.
Now the RTC sits vacant, the local group “Friends of the Kirkbride” has been giving tours for the past nine seasons and has worked to keep it from being demolished.
The City of Fergus Falls oversees the RTC now and is waiting for a developer to purchase the land and give it a new use.
Mayor Hal Leland, says he hopes it can be revitalized to help support the local economy again like it once did. “I would hope that it would become the economic engine that it once was, where it would provide jobs and an opportunity for entrepreneurs and other business to get involved up there.”
Leland says they have had interest “from coast to coast” and have two projects being presented to the city council in the coming weeks, one this Monday.
The City of Fergus Falls has is also waiting for HF1622 to pass the Minnesota legislature and extend the state grant that gives them funding for the RTC. That legislation would allow them more time to find a developer and maintain the building while it sits empty.
Leland adds “It’s an enormous sturdy facility, developers have told us it will last for another hundred years if you just take some care of it.”
Tours of the RTC are every Friday at 2:00 PM and are by reservation only by calling, 218-736-5328.
Lack of Psych Beds Leave Patients Stuck in the ER
Massachusetts hospitals are not trained to deal with psychiatric emergencies and emergency rooms are not equipped to handle those having a mental health crisis. There is, on top of that, a lack of psychiatric beds in psychiatric hospitals and poor communication between the hospital and the health insurance company.
Compared to the treatment given to those experiencing typical medical emergencies, those with a psychiatric emergency are left waiting for hours, if not days, because [too often] the hospital cannot find a psychiatric facility willing to take them.
Two Buildings Illegally Demolished at Westboro
The State Division of Capital Asset Management and the Department of Mental Health illegally tore down the circa 1890 Piggery and 1918 Barn at Westboro State Hospital without warning because they are an “imminent hazard and needed to be removed for the sake of maintaining public safety”.
The Massachusetts Historical Commission or the Northboro Historical Commission were never notified and both buildings are listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
Fergus Falls Competing in ‘This Place Matters Community Challenge’
You can vote for Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center, a Minnesota Kirkbride, in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s ‘This Place Matters Community Challenge’!
You can do that right here on the right-hand side of the website in the blue box. Voting ends June 30th, 2011.
If selected, Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center will receive a $25,000 national grant for historic preservation.
To learn more about this contest, check it out here and in this article.
Group Wants to Show Respect for Patients Buried at Willard
Colleen Kelly Spellecy runs the Willard Cemetery Memorial Project at Willard State Hospital in which 5,776 patients are buried. They would like to create a burial register, clean the meadow and erect four granite markers in the lot with the names of the dead buried there.
Craig Williams of the New York State Museum, will give a presentation on Willard State Hospital at Hadley Hall, on the grounds of the hospital from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. on July 23, He will show items from the Willard suitcase exhibit. Colleen Kelly Spellecy is scheduled to talk about her memorial project at noon, Aug. 30, before the Seneca Falls Rotary Club, at Waterloo Holiday Inn.
Filmmaker Denied Request to Shoot at School
Filmmaker, Eric Moyer, wants to shoot “School Spirits” at the former Souderton Area High School, from which Moyer graduated in 1991. Superintendent Frederick Johnson denied his request.
Westboro Reuse Plan: Public Weigh-in
A commission will hold a public hearing Thursday to discuss possible redevelopment plans for the Westboro State Hospital property at 7 pm in the Westboro High School auditorium.
“The Ward” Premiering On Demand
A horror movie entitled “The Ward” filmed at Eastern State Hospital last year premieres On Demand today, June 8th. Directed by John Carpenter, this film will premiere in theaters early next month.
A thriller centered on an institutionalized young woman who becomes terrorized by a ghost. The set for the movie was constructed on Eastern State Hospital land and the movie was shot over a period of 30 days. North-by-Northwest production company estimates shooting the movie brought $4 million into the local economy. It features big Hollywood names like Amber Heard, alongside dozens of Spokane-area extras and other talent.
Idaho State Hospital South Razing Two Buildings
It will take roughly sixty days to remove two seventy-nine-year-old vacant patient buildings that have been decaying since 1988 (when a new modern wing of the hospital was built) at Idaho State Hospital South. Onlookers showed up Monday to take one last picture.
Original article
Fergus Falls State Hospital Stories
The Otter Tail County Historical Society will present “Milk & Rest: Stories from the Fergus Falls State Hospital” at 5:30 PM on June 10th designed to bring the history of the state hospital to life through stories and personal accounts. The cost is $5 per. person.
For more information, call (218) 736-6038 or visit http://www.otchs.org.
Electric Shock Treatment
Did you know roughly 100,000 Americans still receive electroconvulsive therapy? Carrie Fisher is one of the few who regularly receive this controversial form of treatment to manage her depression caused by her bipolar disorder. Fisher has written a new book entitled, Shockaholic, to be released November of this year. Her previous book, Wishful Drinking, was a New York Times bestseller.
Jared Lee Loughner Unfit For Trial
Jared Lee Loughner’s lawyers state he is “gravely mentally ill” and cannot stand trial. Loughner has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia and suffers from delusions and disordered thinking.
Lyons Told Cops Another Man Killed Girlfriend
Glenn Lyons told State Police in May 2008 that Kathy Leibig called him and invited him to meet for breakfast in a parking lot and while having sex in her car a man wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt opened the door and pulled him out of the car and knocked him out.
The Abandoned Newspaper 