Elgin Mental Hospital History

Elgin mental hospital history. To get answers to individual questions contact a librarian. The hospital was founded as a result of a bequest by dr alexander gray d. 1807 who was born in elgin but worked as a surgeon for the east india company. At times it treated mental illness tuberculosis and provided federally funded care for veterans.

The original name of the elgin mental health facility its current name was the northern illinois hospital and asylum for the insane. Personally i am grateful to the author for enriching my perspective on the system within which i work. A follow up to this post was published on thursday july 26 2012 with the title help in accessing closed records of illinois state mental hospitals. The history of elgin mental health center was for me a delightful tour through the hospital s history weaving in and out of the larger state system the national context and the development of psychiatry and the mental health professions.

In 1983 the psychiatric emergency program was opened at sherman hospital and in 1986 satellite offices were opened in hanover park and st. The mental health center also has an on site cemetery that was used during the 1900s for patients. To learn more about accessing mental health records please read this follow up after reading the post below. The md here did not even know was the procedure for an irregular pap smear was.

Beginning in the 1980 s children and adolescent mental health services increasingly became the responsibility of the family service association of greater elgin. A contributing factor to the hospital s notoriety is the fact that it has long housed patients considered criminally insane. It answers many of the questions we have received via comments. This facility is all you imagine an institution to be.

A rumor circulated for year and still exists that the state of illinois approached the city of elgin with plans to construct a mental institution and a college and. Now called the elgin mental health centre the northern illinois hospital and asylum for the insane as it was originally known received its first patient on april 3 1872. Bad food cold showers. The elgin mental health center formerly elgin state hospital the northern illinois hospital and asylum for the insane is a mental health facility operated by the state of illinois in elgin illinois throughout its history elgin s mission has changed.

The cemetery holds almost 1 000 graves. The doors opened in 1872 however construction of additional buildings continued until 1874. 9 reviews of elgin mental health center a friend was unfortunate enough to have been sent to this facility when i really did not need inpatient care by an overzealous social worker at good shephard hospital.