In the olden days, there was the Sangamon County Poor Farm....called the Almshouse. Deplorable conditions for the insane. An almshouse is one which by definition is for the poor...but the Sangamon County Alsmhouse was a hodgepodge, insane, poor, sick, criminals, physically disabled, mentally disabled, etc. It was deplorable.
The following paragraphs have been taken from the book written in 1914 to show how these were viewed in the early 1900's. The book is named: Care of Mental Defections and Alcoholics in Springfield Illinois by Walter Lewis Treadway 1914. (Note some parts of paragraphs have been omitted to allow for me to publish more important parts.) This book is written in the first party:
"In 1914 there were 222 inmates in the Sangamon County poor farm. 201 males and 21 females. Six women and four women were said to be insane but I ascertained that at least 18 were insane. There were besides five inmates who were mentally defective. The insane were locked in cells at night, but during the day they are allowed the liberty of the grounds and most of them assist with the work.
The facilities for the care of the insane in this county almshouse are nor better nor worse than the average institution of this type. ........ (omitted)......... While some changes in the conditions described have occurred since 1911, those that persist are sufficiently unwholesome to show this almshouse to be an unfit place in which to care for the insane. The quotation follows:
"The Sangamon County almshouse is a brick building with basement, first and second floors. It is about fifty years old. The walls are so old the paint peels from them. A fire would spread rapidly. The insane men were caged in the basement * on the east side of the house. All the rooms are bare.
Each room has several cots. An insane mad shared a room with a man who was sick in bed. An insane woman shared a room with a feeble-minded woman and a sane woman. A man with palsy, who is entirely helpless, lay in a bed in a filthy condition, and as he shook he moaned that the bugs made him sick when they bit him. Opposite to him is a deaf, dumb and insane boy, who is constantly attended by on of the inmates. There is no night watchman. The bath tubs are used by all kinds of inmates with communicable diseases and by the other inmates who are especially susceptible to such diseases due to their low vitality. When I made the inspection, it was very warm but many windows were down because the old people got cold sitting with nothing to do. There is no provision for artificial ventilation."
....... (Omitted)....... Apparently all Springfield can do to lessen the number of insane persons in the Sangamon County Poor Farm is to demand that a fair proportion be received in the state hospitals; at the same time, to try in every way to secure legislation which will provide accommodations in the state hospitals for all of the insane of Illinois now confined in almshouses and ultimately to secure a statute which will absolutely prohibit almshouse care for these patients.
* this statement, made to Dr. Treadway by the superintendent, on his visit to the Almshouse in April was later changed by the superintendent in a public statement in December, indicating that patients were locked in cells only occasionally as a matter of discipline.
(Note this was just a small section of a lengthy book on the care in Sangamon County in the early 1900's. Later the insane began to be housed in the State Hospital facilities like Lincoln and Jacksonville State Hospitals. Note that due to the closing of the Lincoln Developmental Center in 2002 due to pressure from a man who did not think through the consequences....and coupled with our esteem jailbird George Ryan the state hospital closed, forcing persons who are incapable of taking care of themselves into society. The thoughts were group homes could care for them. Our family knows from experience that group homes cannot care for patients with debilitating conditions and those whose conditions worsen. A family member of ours had to be removed from a group home due to worsening conditions. When this type of situation happens, these severely disabled people have to be confined in nursing homes and the state begins to pay for the confinements....the cost is much more than when the state hospitals were open. Now the Jacksonville Developmental Center as well as Tinley Park Developmental Center are on the verge of being closed due to the same man's push to close all facilities. He represents only one class of persons....and he has convinced the current governor that closure will mean budget savings.....how I ask........the costs will be there but in another way for nursing homes.....and the horrible thing is nursing homes are cutting their number of Medicare and Medicaid beds because they aren't getting paid for them.....this man who is pushing to close all of these state hospitals which took care of these severely disabled patients for a hundred years, but he represents one class of persons only (cerebral palsy) and it's not fair to other classes of disabled persons who will never be able to care for themselves (such as downs syndrome, Alzheimer's, grossly physically disabled and those who would most likely qualify as insane). There is no place for these people to go if nursing homes continue to reduce their bed numbers for Medicare and Medicaid persons....and believe me the push is on for reduction of Medicare/Medicaid beds in nursing homes. And, how can you expect nursing home workers or group home workers to care for persons who are dangerous and those who might be considered comparable to the old insane terminology? Think about where these persons will go..... any insane persons (comparable condition to the old insane terminology) could again land in our prisons and on the streets where they might not only hurt themselves but others too....tell me if this is fair? It seems it might be back to the dungeons and cells in jail basements for persons who are disabled and not criminals...all because of political moves. Call or write the governor and tell him the state hospitals should remain open....tell him you don't want the state to return to the use of almshouse confinement. I rest my case.
1 comment:
Each room has several cots. An insane mad shared a room with a man who was sick in bed. An insane woman shared a room with a feeble-minded woman and a sane woman.
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