New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum (by Barbara)

<p>I chose the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, founded by Dorothea Dix May 15, 1848 because the video we watched stated that Dix spent the end of her life in private quarters here. When she retired at the age of 80, she took a private apartment at the asylum and remained there until her death five years later. I was expecting something rather grand and certainly very humane. This was the first of Dix’s asylums in the country, and it was clear that she intended it to be a place of humane care and treatment.</p>

 <p>It was the first American asylum built on the Kirkbride plan, an architectural style developed on the moral treatment philosophy in which the building itself is part of the cure and included privacy, easy access to sunlight and fresh air, and expansive grounds. Dix excited interest in this asylum by stressing the particular case of an elderly gentleman who had been a member of the state Legislature but in his old age became “insane” and was left to suffer first in a jail and later in an almshouse. Despite her ceaseless efforts, she had to apply pressure for several years before the asylum became a reality. Intended to take a portion of residents from each of the New Jersey counties, the asylum was self-sufficient with its own kitchens, gardens, laundries, livestock, and so on. There were separate dorms for males and females, with a capacity of about 200 patients. Separate buildings provided housing for staff. In 1855, additional buildings were put up that increased the capacity by another 250 patients and caregivers. Additional buildings, some intended to house patients and others intended for more scientific purposes, such a laboratory, or for better functioning of the asylum, such as a bakery, continued through the 19th century. There were different facilities for the wealthy patient than for the penniless ones, particularly around the quality of food, and an entirely separate facility was dedicated to those who were deemed incurable. At the end of the century, the asylum was recognized as having the largest library of any asylum in the country.</p>

<p>When the asylum opened in 1848 under superintendent Dr Buttolph, it housed 86 patients. Dr Buttolph is remembered for instituting occupational therapy and the elimination of physical restraints. Dr Ward replaced Dr Buttolph and served for 40 years, leaving a rich legacy of service and ability. In 1961, John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) was admitted to this hospital as a patient, and it is fortunate that he was not admitted even a single year earlier because Dr. Ward’s successor, Dr Henry Cotton, was convinced that mental illness was caused by infection and began the practice of removing patient’s teeth, tonsils, and other body parts (including legs, arms, and organs) to remove infection or to prevent its spread. The practice of removing a patient’s teeth persisted until 1960 despite hundreds of fatalities and thousands of maimings at the hospital. Dr Cotton was truly a mad doctor and, despite the high number of fatalities that occurred under his stewardship of the asylum, no one stopped or even spoke out against these involuntary and barbaric maimings and murders. Even more shocking, the removal of patient’s teeth remained a commonplace procedure for thirty years after he had left the asylum even though science clearly did not support the ‘focal sepsis’ theory of mental illness. In 2007, Andrew Scull published the real story of Dr Cotton’s horrendous practices and exposed the professionals through the years who participated in the cover-up. I found it interesting to discover that when Dr Cotton became ill in 1925 and took a temporary leave from the asylum, he had all of his own teeth removed and later returned to his duties at the asylum. I also noticed that the scholarly online sources focus on Dr Cotton’s modernity and advances, fail to mention his barbaric practices.</p>

<p>The Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, as it is now known, is a modern 450-bed institution - rather an alarming increase over the the 80-plus patients it originally housed, and even more so when you realize that many of the original buildings have been closed off and left to decay in place. The hospital’s website proclaims “compassionate care” and “human response” while ignoring its dark past. Recently, the hospital has been in the news for an attack by one inmate on another that left the attacked patient permanently blind and missing an eyeball. In recent years, families of patients at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital have called it a zoo, and published analysis shows that from 2005 to 2010 it had the “highest rates of violence and patient restraint compared to New Jersey's other four state psychiatric hospitals.” </p>

<p>I wasn’t able to find out how many people had passed through the doors, either as patients or as staff, because the hospital has been through several reincarnations and continues to operate today.</p>

<p>The asylum, originally intended to humanely house and care for people whose mental illness made it impossible to be cared for safely in a noninstitutionalized setting, had promising beginnings. During the 19th century, a great deal of effort was put into creating a place that was welcoming, light, and hospitable. Unfortunately, the hospital became very large, at times housing double and even treble the original 200 inhabitants planned for. Although there were buildings enough to house everyone and the campus was expanded to house more caregivers and buildings were built for water supply, food storage and processing, etc., I maintain that it is not to the benefit of the patient to be one of so very many. Smaller scale, more attention to each individual, is necessary. The asylum - and mental health professions at large - suffered terribly due not only to Dr Cotton’s horrifying practices but also due to the cover up within mental health circles. When questions led to concerns great enough to send investigators to the asylum, the reports that were made failed to reveal what was really going on. This cover up continued until the present century and even now, online sites may fail to reveal the true scope of Dr Cotton’s actions and the hospitals perpetuation of his practices for thirty years after his departure.</p>

<p>http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Trenton_State_Hospital http://www.the-line-up.com/trenton-psychiatric-hospital/ http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/10/trenton_psychiatric_patient_accused_in_attack_that_left_roommate_blind.html http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/hunterdon-county/express-times/index.ssf/2011/08/trenton_hospital_records_show.html</p>