Mackenzie and Smythe to construct a major addition to the hospital, in the form of an 'east wing' (see below). (Acts of 1797).A very significant public health concern in Maryland in the year 1797 was Yellow Fever. The annual report of 1843 notes that, in 1839, that section of the hospital, i.e. However, what had once been the Main Building's powerhouse and gas works, a building that was built at the same time and was originally adjacent to, but not part of, the Main building survives today as what is known as the Spring Grove Hospital Center is the largest psychiatric hospital operated by the State of Maryland, with 377 beds. )By one report from the late 1800s, the rate of physical illness and death was lower among the hospital's African-American population than it was among the white population. Additional information about Maryland's history (including additional information about Maryland's public mental health system) is available through their web site: Springfield History, Although it is not known exactly when the Hospital accepted its first African-American patients, it is known that African-American patients were admitted well before the Civil War -- at a time when Maryland was still a slave state. The commissioners acted quickly. (The lease was later extended.) Although certainly not suggested in the 1857 report, an alternative explanation for the much higher 'cure rate' for the private patients could have been , of course, that they may very well have received better care and treatment than the public patients -- and, just like today, the private patients were probably more likely to have had housing available to them in the community. Collectively, these articles have been come to be known as the 'Maryland's Shame' story. The hospital is now officially known as Spring Grove Hospital Center (renamed in 1973) and under the governance of the Mental Hygiene Administration, the facility operates 330 beds and provides advanced inpatient psychiatric services to approximately 1000 patients every year. It appears that the commission did not meet again until November 1867. Furthermore, any renewal of the lease was subject to the execution of a commitment by Drs. Perhaps in an anticipation that the hospital would need to continue to grow, a lot to the north of the hospital was purchased for $4,000 in 1834. Rice Auditorium (officially known as the Thomas-Rice Auditorium) was opened in 1936. In 1800, Dr. J.J. Gireaud published a formula that he believed both prevented and cured yellow fever. Jamison Building in 1981. It is too small, and too defective in its construction. To begin with, the fresh water source was one of the hospital's spring-fed streams. Spring Grove Hospital Center in Baltimore, MD is not nationally ranked in any specialty. In 1840 the hospital expanded to exclusively care for the mentally ill. Their efforts were rewarded when, on November 2, 1797 (Spring Grove's official 'birthday'), the Legislature passed an act to authorize the erection of the facility. For example, the Hospital had installed gas lighting fixtures by 1858. According to hospital records, during an 11 month period in 1857 some 43 patients were admitted to the Maryland Hospital; 39 patients were discharged from the hospital; and six patients died. vii). Garrett Building (1932), the Find directions at US News . According to a report published in 1836 by The Committee to Visit and Inspect the Maryland Hospital, Dr. Stokes' and his assistant each had annual salaries of $500. (The term 'retreat' had been used in England and America to describe what today might be called sanitariums or infirmaries.) Although there were several major expansions of the building in later years, originally it had 18 patient care units or "wards" (later called "Halls") three floors, with three units en echelon on each floor of each wing. By way of contrast, the newspaper accounts also pointed to what was considered to have been the pleasant, healthful and therapeutic conditions at the two State psychiatric hospitals in Maryland (Spring Grove and Springfield). The building was heated by hot water pipes that ran to it from the nearby (and still extant) Boiler House that was located immediately to the building's west. Although leased to Drs Mackenzie and Smythe, who controlled the day-to-day operations of the hospital, both the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland maintained at least titular oversight powers during this period -- and both entities continued to provide some of the hospital's funding. Spring Grove hospital workers, including dietary and maintenance staff, gathered outside the central kitchen to rally for COVID-19 response pay extra salary given to Maryland's front-line. It will be necessary to retain the gas in the building to prevent being entirely without light in case of some accident to the electric apparatus.'. The following classification system was developed by Dr. R. G. B. Broome, who was one of the Spring Grove 'Medico-Psychological' physicians (psychiatrists) in 1874. Staff quarters and offices were located in the front of the center section of the building. Lest the reader be left with the impression that the hospital's planners were totally incompetent, it should be noted that the sewage was, of course, dumped back into the downstream from where the area Red Brick Cottages (1950s). However, regardless of its official name, the hospital in it's Catonsville location has always been informally referred to as 'Spring Grove. In an apparent The State of Maryland pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with friendly and courteous, timely and responsive, accurate and consistent, accessible and convenient, and truthful and transparent services. ', According to historic information obtained from Johns Hopkins Hospital, the old buildings of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane at Baltimore were mostly demolished by the time that John Hopkins died, on Christmas Eve, 1873 - although reportedly Mr. Hopkins never saw formal plans for the hospital that would eventually bear his name. We do know that the land upon which the Retreat was built was owned by Captain Yellott, himself. Mania, Puerperal [i.e., Related to Childbirth], Monomania [i.e., Related to a single idea or obsession, usually paranoid in nature], Amenomania [Related to menopause or 'Uterine Derangements' - about 8% of the hospital's admissions. The Rectory was the home of a priest accused of. . Most of the instructors were physician members of the Hospital's medical staff. Evidently, the agreement was that the Inebriate Asylum could operate in the completed north wing of the Spring Grove site until the rest of the building could be completed and the psychiatric patients from the Maryland Hospital for the Insane at Baltimore could be transferred to into it. Although the funds were appropriated by the State, and although ownership of the property rested with the State, the funds were placed in the hands of the Mayor of Baltimore, who, along with Captain Yellott and his associates, had served as member of the committee that selected the site. The first large land acquisition subsequent to the original land purchase occurred in 1909 when Spring Grove boughta43-acre farm that was located immediately to the southeast of the original property. For example, the board appointed all employees, from servants to physicians. Service lines include adult and adolescent acute psychiatric admissions, long term inpatient care, medical-psychiatric hospitalization, forensic evaluation services, inpatient psychiatric research, and assisted living services. In that year, the hospital installed a fairly sophisticated sewage filtration and purification system that was built largely with patient and hospital staff labor. However, records from the early 1890s indicate that the Spring Grove executive staff lobbied against the creation of a second administratively independent State psychiatric hospital. With the approval of the City Council, Dr. John Mackenzie, the son of Dr. Colin Mackenzie, took control of the hospital in 1827, following his father's death. It was made part of the Behavioral Health Administration in July 2014. It is believed that the original hospital building (circa 1798) was situated almost exactly where the well-known domed Administration Building of Johns Hopkins Hospital stands today, although this belief may not be precisely accurate. Accordingly, despite oral history that supports its existence at Spring Grove, it is not clear if the 'Inebriate Asylum' ever actually operated at the site. The various buildings in the Up until that time, Maryland had depended heavily upon a system known as 'County Care,' i.e., the basic care and shelter that was provided in 'County Homes' (alms houses) to indigent citizens (including indigent citizens with mental illnesses) by the various counties. The Hot Springs in La Grande, Oregon have a long and colorful history. The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved the sale of the Spring Grove Hospital Center's 175-acre campus in Catonsville to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for a nominal $1, despite concerns from mental health groups that the state lacks detailed plans to replace services provided by the centuries-old psychiatric facility. Their efforts were rewarded when, on November 2, 1797 (Spring Grove's official 'birthday'), the Legislature passed an act to authorize the erection of the facility. Not only were there insufficient funds to allow for the completion of the Hospital, there was not enough money to repay debts incurred to pay for some of the work that had already been completed. http://www.msa.maryland.gov/. Despite further appropriations of $15,000 in 1856; $25,000 in 1858; another $25,000 in 1859; and $100,000 in 1860 (Acts of 1858, and Acts of 1860), construction progressed slowly -- and had stopped completely by the onset of the Civil War. However, it does seem reasonable to assume that, if it survived, it may have eventually become one of the hospital's outbuildings. [The inspectors] found a large, nay almost the whole of the East building useless for the great purposes of a lunatic asylum, for want of properly warmed and secured cells for confinement.' Steuart's brother, Major General George H. Steuart, had two sons who had mental illness,[7] and it is possible that this was one of the causes of Steuart's particular interest in Spring Grove Hospital and the treatment of mental illness. With the approval of local trustees of the poor, county levy courts were authorized in 1817 to commit persons referred to as 'lunatic paupers' to the hospital, upon agreement by the county to provide an annual payment to the hospital (Acts of 1817).While no direct evidence exists today that slaves were ever used to staff the hospital, it should be noted that, during this period, similar institutions did use slave labor for certain tasks. Note: Despite his 'founder' status, despite Dr. Steuart's many other contributions, and despite the fact that he held the title of 'President of the Maryland Hospital' for many years (almost to the time of his death), there has never been a 'Sprigg-Steuart Building' at Spring Grove. The cost of construction need not exceed $400 per bed.' In addition, the hospital's operating rooms and other non-psychiatric medical services were located in the Foster Wade Building, prior to the erection of the Garrett Building in 1932. In 1814, during the War of 1812, some 234 sick and wounded soldiers were taken to the hospital from the battles that occurred around Baltimore, including the Battle of North Point. A number of documents that date from the period between the end of the Civil War and 1872 refer to it simply as 'The Spring Grove Asylum.' Although perhaps the concepts of Moral Management are seen today as being somewhat puritanical and outdated, modern scholarly studies have reasserted that the application certain of its basic elements can be very beneficial in promoting recovery from serious psychiatric illnesses -- and in preventing relapses. According to the terms of the new lease, the 'Centre Building' was to serve exclusively as a 'lunatic asylum.' The report also indicates that there was significant disagreement over funding for furnishings and operating costs. In the 1870s, the Hospital experimented with the use of colored lights and walls to treat or aid in the management of certain psychiatric conditions. This early forerunner of inspecting agencies such as the Joint Commission, CMA, and the Maryland Office of Health Care Quality, did a great deal to help assure the quality of care at Spring Grove and other institutions of the day. Spring Grove Hospital Center. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the hospital expanded its land holdings and constructed new buildings. (The hospital did hold a legally binding option to purchase the parcel in question for $2,000, and this option was transferred to Johns Hopkins at the time of the sale. She also cited a need to relocate the hospital to a more pastoral setting, outside the City of Baltimore. As recently as the late1950s, Spring Grove had as many as 3,400patients at any given time, and the 'construction boom' at Spring Grove continued into the 1960s.The response to wartime politics, the group of men who had originally been appointed to oversee the project (some of whom were reportedly Confederate sympathizers) was replaced in 1862 (Acts of 1862). The [2] Only the Eastern State Hospital which was founded in 1773 in Williamsburg, Virginia, is older. May 15, 2022 at 5:11 p.m. EDT. In addition, yellow fever patients were treated at the hospital during the several epidemics that occurred between 1798 and 1819. By all accounts, the lottery was very successful, and at least one historian has noted that a number of the lottery winners donated their winnings back to the State so that they could be applied to the expansion of the hospital. Patients were also directed into work and other Over the years, the hospital's land holdings were expanded considerably, so that, eventually, its grounds covered an area that today is roughly bordered by the present Monument St. to the north; Broadway (formerly Market St.) to the west; Jefferson St. to the south; and Wolfe St. to the east. (See below. Annual Report of the Board of Managers, 1877. A 1819 drawing of the hospital clearly shows that the hospital building -- including the Centre Building, and both the east and west wings -- had been completed by that date. Reportedly, his original intent had been to build his hospital on his 330 acre country estate, Clifton, north of the 19th-century Baltimore City limits. The additions were probably completed in stages, but the order of completion is not known. While construction of a new hospital building on the site reportedly began shortly following the purchase, there is also evidence that the same building that served as the Retreat temporarily became the Public Hospital of Baltimore immediately upon it's purchase by the City. Despite the new levels of administration, however, daily operation of Spring Grove remained the responsibility of its Board of Managers. The hot water was used to heat air that was contained in heat exchangers that were located in the basement, and then a series of air shafts were used to allow the heated air to rise to the upper floors through gravity-fed convection. [1], Main Image Gallery: Spring Grove State Hospital, Spring Grove Hospital Center Alumni Museum, https://asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Spring_Grove_State_Hospital&oldid=39468. However, this also proved to be unsatisfactory because odors from the cesspools easily found their way into the interior of the building, and, understandably, the patients and attendants complained. . Eastern State Hospital of Virginia, no psychiatric hospital is older than Spring Grove. known as 'The Center Building' or 'The Administration Building,' was razed in 1963. In 1794 Baltimore, which would not be incorporated as a city for another three years, was growing rapidly and had a bustling seaport. In 1930 the first graduating class had ten members, all of whom were women. The report notes that nine of these patients were 'free' while one of them was 'a slave.' For example, by one report the hospital maintained horses and carriages so that patients could go out for rides and other activities. These numbers represent a substantial reduction in the patient population, as compared to the above figures from around 1817. (The 1852 annual report of the Hospital's board suggests that this change had actually been in progress since 1834). Smythe and Mackenzie -- on the condition that they complete the addition of the 'Centre Building,' which, it should be noted, was not a separate building, but, instead, a new component of a single larger structure. When our [alcoholic] patients go into it, they will be its first occupants. In addition to the Main Building, buildings at Spring Grove that represented or evoked the Kirkbride plan included such buildings as the Dr. Richard Sprigg-Steuart, who had been President of the hospital's Board since 1828 was replaced as its President by C.W. Dr. Sprigg-Steuart, who at the time held the title of President and Medical Superintendent of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane , contributed $1000 of his private funds towards the purchase price. (Similar immunity had previously been granted to the Maryland Hospital, but could not be transferred to a new owner.) The original plan had been to construct the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center at the site of the razedMain Building, and speeches given at a ceremony marking the occasion of the demolition reference the symbolic nature of the plan to construct a modern psychiatric research center over the ruins of a mid-nineteenth century asylum building. In 1813 admission to the City Hospital could be ordered or authorized by the chancellor of an entity known as the 'Chancery Court.' At the time the inmates consisted of a few insane, a few physically sick indigents, and a few mariners who [had fallen] sick while their boats were in the thriving port of Baltimore.' Join us for a walk around the Spring Grove Hospital Center campus to see this partially abandoned historic facility where, among other things, the first and longest government-run psychedelic drug research program took place. $3,000 of the total came from the City of Baltimore; $3,000 by the State; and the balance, approximately $12,000, came from donations given by several benevolent citizens. As noted above, a report of 1843 says that the cost had been $154,000. The report went on to say that, it was noted that at that time (1836) there were 22 patients that required 'close' (i.e. Rehabilitation Building (a portion of which is also known as the 'Rush Building,' and now the headquarters of the Alcohol and Drug However, Spring Grove RN's who do not wish to apply for this this national certification can participate in the Spring Grove Hospital Center Psychiatric Nursing Certification program. Following the public outcry that was generated by the Maryland's Shame articles, the Maryland General Assembly allocated substantial funding for new construction and other physical plant improvements, along with money for better pay and significant infusions of new staff positions. Other treatment interventions used in psychiatric hospitals duringthis period included the administration of various medications, including opioids (such as Laudanum) and other sedatives, and warm and cold baths. Groovy. However, as seen in the hospital's annual reports, a wide variety of other articles were also produced. This action, of course, raised the specter of the State losing its entire investment through foreclosure should the General Assembly continue to refuse to appropriate additional funding. When later asked by the cousin what he thought of the property, Mr. Hopkins reportedly replied, 'Cousin, I liked it so well that I bought it myself.' We do know that it was located on a now defunct byway that was known as the 'Old Road to Philadelphia' (later referred to as the 'Old Joppa Road'), just south of today's Monument Street in Baltimore. employee cottages (in the employee The hospital's annual report to the Governor in 1876 indicates that restraints were applied to about 2% of the patient population. Understandably, workers, trades people and materials suppliers were unwilling to resume construction activities until the past-due bills were paid -- and the Board acknowledged that it would be dishonorable to not pay their debts, especially if, as was the case in 1870 after the sale of the old hospital, the funds were available. In a report dated January 12, 1870, Dr. R. S. Steuart, the hospital's chief executive officer, summarized the bases of the decision to sell and abandon the Baltimore site and to move all of the hospital's operations to the 'new Hospital' as follows: (Taken from the Forty-First Report of the President and Visitors of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane, Baltimore, for 1868 and 1869). Furthermore, its monolithic design was badly out of step with the needs and sensibilities of a modern psychiatric hospital; and, in the days before "condo's" and "loft apartments" it probably wouldn't have lent itself to adaptive reuse. The plumbing in the bathrooms was immediately found to be of 'an inferior grade,' and had to be completely replaced within a few years, and early reports also note that a $4,000 upgrade in the heating system was necessary after it was found to have been grossly inadequate during the first winter the building was occupied by the hospital. 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