Topeka State Hospital

Topeka State Hospital opened in 1872 originally called the Topeka Insane Asylum until 1901. The hospital was shut down in 1997 due to lack of funding and community integration movements. The original intent of the hospital was to treat the mentally ill in sanitary conditions, that would replace the unsuitable homes/prisons that they were living in. The hospital aimed to occupy people with mental illness with more appropriate tasks such as employment within the hospital which would hopefully make them happier. The hospital only took in people who were court ordered to be committed, the hospitals notion was that people are sick not criminal, therefore they wanted them to have appropriate treatment. In 1948 the true conditions of the hospital were exposed due to lack of funding, paperwork could not be found on many of the clients, and there were even people who had no identity at all, no one knew their names or why they were committed. During this time many people had been committed without being evaluated by a psychiatrist to see if they really needed to be committed and many people were found chained, naked, for months some even years. After hearing of some of the awful conditions the governor decided to create a panel of five people to examine the conditions of the hospital and decide what needed to change. Because of this the hospital gained more staff, and even opened a training center for staff so they would know how to appropriately treat their patients. Rocking chairs were also banned from the hospital. Out patient services even started in 1951. Unfortunately in 1958 the conditions began to go downhill again because of cutbacks, staff members left and patients went untreated. This hospital was known for physical and sexual abuse of patients, as well as neglect. Sterilization was also a popular form of treatment at this hospital, in the state of Kansas 3,032 people had been sterilized, a majority of them at Topeka State Hospital. There are 1,157 people buried at the hospital in unmarked graves.

Resources:

https://www.kshs.org/p/topeka-state-hospital-records/11317

http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Topeka_State_Hospital

http://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/KS/KS.html