PROVISIONS FOR THE INSANE.
There are five Insane Hospitals in the State of Pennsylvania, under the control of the state, located respectively at Harrisburg, Danville, Dixmont, Norristown and Warren. The total expenditures of these five hospitals for 1883 amounted to $711,666. In addition to these there are “The Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane,” “Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane,” “The Friends’ Asylum for the Insane,” located at Frankford, near Philadelphia, and the “Training School for Feeble Minded Children;” the four latter involving an annual expenditure of nearly $400,000. The total number of insane confined in these institutions is 5,338, of whom 4,361 are indigent patients supported at the expense of the state. When the act of the legislature, already alluded to, shall have taken full effect, the total number of insane patients in these hospitals will reach at least 7,000. “The Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital” at Harrisburg was founded in the year 1848, and since that time the total amount appropriated by the state is $1,110,929. The district entitled to the benefit of this hospital is composed of sixteen counties, with a population of nearly one million; and the capacity of the hospital is only sufficient for twenty-seven per cent. of the insane persons resident in the district. “The Western Pennsylvania Hospital,” at Dixmont, was founded in 1855. The total amount appropriated by the state since that time is $1,022,128. In addition to what it has received from the state, this hospital owns 373 acres of land, which were paid for entirely by private contributions. The district in which this hospital is located is composed of thirteen counties, with a population of 900,000; and the hospital has accommodations for only twenty-two per cent. of the insane residents within the district. “The State Hospital for the Insane” at Danville was founded in 1868, and has received in appropriations from the state, $1,408,900. The district in which it is located is composed of twenty-one counties, with a population of 800,000; and the present capacity of the hospital for seven hundred patients, is sufficient for fifty-four per cent. of the insane residents within the district. “The State Hospital for the Insane” at Warren was founded in 1873. The total amount appropriated by the state since that time is $1,125,000. The district in which it is located is composed of ten counties, with a population of about 400,000 inhabitants. Its present capacity is six hundred, which is eighty-seven per cent. of the insane residents of the district. “The State Hospital for the Insane” at Norristown was founded in 1876. The amount appropriated by the state since that time is $9,616,846. The district within which it is located is composed of seven counties, with a population of 1,300,000. Its present capacity is eight hundred and four; that is for only thirty four per cent. of the insane residents of the district. “The Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane” is located in West Philadelphia, the hospital grounds covering 113 acres, upon which are erected two buildings, one the department for males, and the other the department for females. This is the institution which has become known throughout the country by the name of its long-time chief physician and superintendent—Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride. Although it has frequently received aid from the state, it is not a state institution. From the opening of this hospital up to 1882, the number of patients admitted was 8,673. Of these, 7,052 were residents of Pennsylvania, the remainder coming from all parts of the United States, Central and South America, and some few from Europe. The total annual expenditures for both departments during 1882 was $182,000. “The Friends’ Asylum,” at Frankford, has long been known in the eastern part of the state as a well conducted and generously managed institution.
It has at present about one hundred patients, all of whom are supported by their friends. “The Philadelphia Hospital” contains 617 patients, of whom 332 are female. Under what is known as “The Hoyt Lunacy Act” of 1883, the supervision of hospitals for the insane, both public and private, will be much stricter than it has ever been heretofore. That act was intended to remedy many of the evils which are constantly occurring in the treatment of these sorely afflicted people. A special committee of the Board of Public Charities is charged with its execution, which committee is composed at present of Philip C. Garrett, Henry M. Hoyt, Thomas G. Morton, E. Coppee Mitchell and W. W. H. Davis, whose names are a guarantee that the insane of Pennsylvania will be treated with scrupulous care, and that no sane man or woman need any longer dread that one form of incarceration which is worse to the healthy minded than either the prison or the grave—incarceration among maniacs. Akin to these institutions for the insane is the Training School for Feeble Minded Children, located at Media. This institution was founded in 1853, and has received from the state since that time the sum of $723,498. It also receives contributions from neighboring states, in return for which the children of contributing states are admitted to its benefits. The number of pupils now in the school is 428, of which about 200 are from the State of Pennsylvania. The total annual expenditure of this school amounts to $109,829.