The Cedarville Herald, Volume 47, Numbers 27-52

SOffOSNGYOUWEREONEOF M SO-CALEDINSANE? (SfeROtf* MOT*: TJO« If m tM4 *t jr * *«U» ot -written B». B«*y j « . *L JUCMhut. fWfWi-iFtiifUwft »f tka $*>»•« bt*t« un tke hi>‘,ur.v, uciuiitnt au- patU'Ht. .........* • ••— ...... . -j-*--* i , pnHwmrt^ mk I i thia #uieI«Sj *4 togcifetz s wv-i’c ?-.-rwhi; b hf- ii-dued. Soon |>j to thinking in terms of pig*, I .4 .; inidnj* , ami per tapit* cost ‘j ri'c ami thL: wf course, takes from , <■ saeatnn the teal side of th* big irouiin: the mental health of the »C laaMflty. JM***m» Mf iuiy*if4 ■ Mwry w«M aewwri** *« *i«**u***l wwUw t MU •ktw'xi I# in mo i iwuw.l ;«»e r -‘i . *• «3 '• • l! M Or, H. H, Me. Cl«Uan F o l l o w i n g tii*gr**t WS*« Htial kadaiv ship of Dorothy Di* th* varlens *t*t*sb#g«»*lw- Jy bat surely to reeagaixs tb*ir duty to the in* sane. At first a state would areet one institution then others so located as to -be convenient to railroad facilities. At first these ‘asylum*’* were yery small hut ,they w^re gradually in­ creased in site as additional room became necessary. The Payton State hospital was started in 1855 and completed ready for occupan­ cy In 1856, Its first year saw it: housing 8Q patients. ~ ‘ It took year* to cause the vari­ ous counties to give up their insahe from their jails or poorhouses, hjit finally this was accomplished when due pressure wps brought to bear and the counties were held respon­ sible for-the upkeep o f thq indigent insane in the state institution. Many of the various states started off with a competent medical man as the head* but quite a few retained the older method o f having a layman as the head of the institution. As a sort of a guiding hand each superintendent was given a local hoard 4° assist in the management o f the institution, In the vast ma-. jority of cases these boards were ■composed of the ablest men of the community. Usually five in number* and their good business sense -and far-sightedness are still manifest in jour average institution. Their man­ agement was not always uniform be­ cause of the very nature of things, but on .the whole the best welfare Of the patients was served and this meant a great step forward from the old-county conditions. Most of the •states at the present time have en­ tirely done away with' the old county . institutions but there are a few who are just now emerging- from the old ’ order of things.- Opponents of the oI.d ‘‘local bbard” I management of the institutions ate prone to state -that there was gross, mismanagement in their plan and that the total cost, to the State was out o f all proportion to what it fShobUt have been had the management been more uniform, but through talking with men who have experienced the old form, of management' this belief is not borne out They- state that there was undoubtedly cases in which state money was squandered pro­ miscuously by certain individuals but as a whole the funds allotted were well and appropriately expend­ ed for the best welfare of .the patient. Irrespective of the accusations ■ made.-against certain boards of man­ agers, it is undoubtedly true that; during their regime there Was a. greater community interest in the institutions than there has been under any other plan to date, and that in itself had a most beneficial influence upon the patient, which is not had where the isolation policy is present. . In Ohio in 1911 there was a Change from the old form of local manage­ ment and a board o f administration was created which took over the duties of some 95 board members. I am not in a position to say whether the centralized form of management saved the state in the aggregate, but I have it on very good authority that the board of administration war not able to save the honest institu­ tion a penny, except in the purchase of inferior products for the patients but was able where there was an ele­ ment o f graft to curtail that dis­ honest leak. Dr. A. F, Shepherd, of Dayton, Ohio, who was for a number of years superintendent of the Day- ton -State hospital and who later served on the hoard o f administra­ tion, has stated that in his opinion •the old form of management under local boards was undoubtedly the best policy but that a centralized authority would serve advantageously in correlating their activities, The foregoing will, I believe ex­ plain the reason why we have slow­ ly, hut surely, left the public behind in our attempts to care for the insane population with the result that the patient is looked upon largely in the cold angle of -an economic responsi­ bility, which in turn tends to mini* mize his medical needs in favor of his ecOfimic cost price. Now let us look to the medical de­ velopment of our average state insti­ tution, Let us see what it hasmeant to have medical men serve as -super­ intendents. There are distinctly two classes of work in a state hospital. On has to do with the physical plant and is *«. wntiaily non-medical. The other has to do with medical care of the patient* and 1* specifically the work for the very beat medical and nun- mg service. These functions are us­ ually- combined- in- the- parson- of snptrintandvnt. Now the character of management; of th« hoopital vrlll w tm w ttir uccordfeg’-te tS* k« tvreits #f flu-re any particular a u:;$ v b ; the superintendent k , if he believe* the most important' tcnd ta pay Jess and less at- ft# his two functions is the physical „ *yll££ou to. the medic#} side of the plant then naturally he will devote. ttl.ltteV-} j s there anything in the more o f hi* time to the physical _;not}j,,ai teachings of the average plant and less to the. medical aide. : ..jenlifal m,;:» that would cauic him to As long as superintendent? are . t - the mental problems as judged in term* of efficiency from e, ■ that need but the least of per capita cost price it is also natural}^ , - ttcntloxi? Tea. that such official will tend to make'" f- ” * as good a showing at his hospital as; For years the best medical mmd3 possible in order not to be critizcd onv country have been thinking ■yy his superiors as being lax in tha t.^d teaching that the vast majority particular, This in turn-seem* to j t h ° - e afflictions were duo to a invite the superintendent to take a • thing that could not be treated in the great deal of interest in tjiings that!Patient himself. That is, they have are very far removed from the real ' thought that insanity was a con _ ditioa du* t* fcftwdfty 0a# ea* readily racogni** that with auch con- ;«pta\m* a* to tiu causa of mental disorder* the arsing* superintendent would faal that hk biggest job had to do with tb« economic custodial ■care o f the case and required but little of him in *. medical way other ; than the simple treatment of the every-day Ills that aroze in his pa­ tient’s body. •As a mu lt of this attitude the j'medioal man who were connected |with our state institution*, aay from 30 to 50 years ago, always looked upon the subject from the attitude ; that “ once insane, always insane.” ' Some of them will fcoNyou that they never heard o f a patient getting well and going home! that when they once entered an institution for the insane they never went 'home again. In the past few years there hag been a noticeable change in the medi­ cal outlook o f the whole matter, Medical men are continually coming custodial care. T* at in the.past few in oontaefc with case# of insanity years in accordai ?e with th* new where the family tree cannot be held facts given to the general medical responsible for the breakdown. They world this subject is now being looked have through their .treatments seen upon as a disease rather than mm a cases of mental disease clear up Rke crime. In the newer type of treat- magic when, the diseased condition o f menfc then it naturally follows that ike body was remedied, and ali thk our state institution* must be modern ha* caused them to suspect more and hospitals and not just “ lunatic a»y- more that insanity k merely * disease imps” where only the custodial care like any other organic disease and as is given, a disease it has the same potential | - — — ------------- treatment a* any other disease and- Worth Considering as it is treatable it is likewise pre-1. Ws iong tor jdwj relations an« won ventable, * \ rferful friendships, forgetting that all We may say then in summarizing' relationships are nwde by the people r L\\Tkof S°T * Dl1 * S f f iS a E » S 5 S K !S i the .tetee to uaume the Mipoju.-; „ j , , , t„ „ „ „ ln , a[nm w i, , bihties of the counties in the care of ‘ rare gift?-—Exchange, the insane was * great step forward,1 j f M om y ? * * •‘WeH,’' saW th* lawyer, “have *** derided to tak* my *dries tad pay this bill of mu'*?" *’T-e atammw**- tb« client. “Vary wril,” aaW lb* ***' yor. Ttoea It* tam*d to bis eJark aa4 ertSrrod bins to add “te to Mr. »mUh’* WU,’* for further adiviML—DoaAon Tit- Bit*. jvo. t u r n ! A small child In th* Sonday wheel 1elw* was fold that th* hair* of not head were all numbered.! Pr*ra«*tly lire pulled one out of be* awn curly 'ork* apd said; “Please, taariier, A’lmi punrbc''‘» U j U.?”— Dtmdofl TU- Bita. but that the step was in a way hind- ; cred through belief that the conSi- CauMca o f ‘Tides Tide* are caused by the gravitation tlon was duo to heredity which was; #1 pul” of ttl8 sup and moon upon the untreatable from a medical view- i‘ water. The moon, being so much .’ Dint but seemed to require only j closer, I# the principal cause of the • ' ' tldeB. ■ - , Panacea J Dmisible Quack—“I guarantee that j one dose of my wonderful mixture will j Immediately our® Influenza end lake . away that spring lassitude, and—few lleve me. ladles and gentlemen, you j need flot'wmda the rest. It will clean j wnd renovate furniture, old clothe*, I and restore upholsteryJ . E . The S World’ s Largest Music |? House V*^ W w w w 0 w w w w w w w w a? w w w w 0 0 0 0 0 Select your Christmas Piano no>v—invest in a g ift the entire family can enjoy Christmas and years to come. 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