the women's building of the central state hostpial
A news clipping about the Central State Hospital
the women's building of the central state hostpial
Central Indiana Hospital
The Central State Hospital (Indiana) or formerly known as the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane was first authorized to be constructed in 1827. However, it never started construction until the following years due to delays and didn’t officially open to the public in 1848.
The hospital treated patients with various mental illnesses throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These ranged from schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, hysteria, and many more. Their primary treatment for these diseases was neuroleptics and restraints. As the hospital grew in size, many problems also began to grow. Many cases of patient abuse, overcrowding, and inadequate therapies persisted in the late nineteenth century.
Throughout the twentieth century, the size of patients continued to grow. At the peak, the hospital had around 2,500 patients, far more than it ever housed in recent years. But with significant budget cuts in the 1980s, the problems that persisted multiplied. Many patients were cramped into rooms and used a single toilet. Reports stated that three women often used a single toilet. Many accidents occurred and resulted in high patient mortality. When fights broke out, they often restrained and isolated the patients with leather straps. If that didn't work, doctors used neuroleptics and sedatives. Neuroleptics were used so often that the patients overdosed and died. With many problems reported by the media, federal agencies stepped in to investigate, including the FSSA. During an investigation, The FSSA or Family and Social Services Administration found a worker guilty of rape after trying to trade cigarettes for sex.
On its last legs, the central state hospital finally closed in 1992. The 389 remaining patients were simply released from the hospital without notifying their families. The reason for its closure was patient abuse and funding troubles which plagued the hospital for quite some time.
References:
“ABOUT THE INDIANA MEDICAL HISTORY MUSEUM.” Indiana Medical History Museum - About, Indiana Medical History Museum, https://www.imhm.org/about.
Beckman, Emily, et al. “Voices from the Newspaper Club: Patient Life at a State Psychiatric Hospital (1988-1992).” The Journal of Medical Humanities, vol. 43, no. 1, 2022, pp. 179–95, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09617-7.
Dwyer, Ellen. “The Final Years of Central State Hospital.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, vol. 74, no. 1, 2019, pp. 107–26, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jry026.
Ferreira, Gabrielle. “Central State Time Capsule Offers Glimpse at Indiana's Past.” The Indianapolis Star, IndyStar, 13 Oct. 2015, https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/10/13/central-state-time-capsule-offers-glimpse-indianas-past/73829236/.