Vermont State Asylum for the Insane—Waterbury, VT
This
asylum was built in 1890. It appears to follow Kirkbride’s design. There are
many “wings” on Waterbury Asylum that separate the administration from
patients, that also allow a lot of natural sunlight with plenty of windows.
Additionally, there are several round buildings (turrets), that would allow for
plenty of natural light and air—with several windows. There was also a farm
next to the asylum which some patients worked on and which also provided much
of the patient’s food.
Photos:
https://i0.wp.com/vtdigger.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/vermont-state-hospital-historic-main.jpg
http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=File:waterburyVT001.jpg
The
intent was to relieve overcrowding at a privately-run Vermont asylum for the
Insane in Brattleboro, VT (Brattleboro Retreat). Upon opening, the asylum was
intended to treat those who are criminally insane, but eventually patients also
included individuals with mental health disabilities, epilepsy, alcoholism, and
those deemed senile. Many patients were impoverished.
Narratives:
Hazel was washing dishes in her
mother’s kitchen when she heard that her fiancé had died in a
tractor accident. “Mother said, ‘If
you don’t stop crying, I’m sending you to Waterbury.’”
Hazel couldn’t and her mother did.
Hazel stayed more than 20 years. When she finally got out,
her family was all gone. She had no
skills or friends. She died in a run-down board and care home, robbed of her
life.
Five members of Bill’s extended
family died within a year, and Bill fell apart. “They sent me to
Waterbury,” he recalled. “They
pulled all my teeth and let me go after 16 years.” Bill was discharged in the
1980s, leaving with his few clothes in a garbage bag. Occasional dish washing
jobs proved too stressful for the 60 year old man who lived in poverty on 16
medications. He died, with no family at his side, in a Northeast Kingdom
nursing home, Their mother was a hooker, and Florence and Julia were underfoot.
At ages 2 and 4 they were
sent off to the Brandon Training
School. The sisters were released when their mother died 24 years later.
Neither young woman had any skills for community living. Florence could only
defecate and urinate when others were in the room, having been herded with a
group to a row of toilets all her life. Julia didn’t know her favorite color,
food or music. Neither knew the difference between loitering and window
shopping at the mall. Both had been given hysterectomies when they started
menstruating. And all of their teeth were pulled, too.
Overwhelmed by life outside the
institution, Florence was sent to the Vermont State Hospital in
the 1940s. Julia found a job as a
housekeeper for a blind man in a one room cabin with a dirt floor. The sisters
lost touch. Forty years later, Florence surprised everyone at VSH when she
announced that she wanted “out of this damn bug house!” State mental health
officials refused her request, claiming she couldn’t manage on the outside.
Florence won her appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court, and moved out with little
more than the five-foot stack of her medical records. She lived 12 more years
in her own apartment. She enjoyed wearing many watches, the sign of power in
the state institutions. One of her prized possessions was the letter she
received while living at the state hospital, informing her of her father’s
death. Florence and Julia were eventually reunited after a 50-year separation.
They died a few years apart, in different nursing homes, alone.
Bethany
Knight knows these personal stories through her work with Washington County
Citizen
Advocacy,
as a long term care ombudsman, and eventually as guardian to the elderly
sisters. Bill, Florence and Julia are all buried on her farm, at their request.
She doesn’t know what happened to Hazel.
In the 1930’s, patients who were being disruptive would be strapped to a table. This form of treatment was called, “colonic irrigation.” Patients with epilepsy had to wear a bath gown 24 hours a day, while they were tied to benches with their arms tied behind their backs during the daytime. If you were a “disturbed female,” you would be immersed in a cold-water bath. There were also seclusion rooms with chains at the basement of the facility. In the 1950’s one of the “best practices” included an electroshock treatment called the Blitz. This treatment left many patients with broken bones. If this treatment did not prove successful, patients were put into insulin comas. Also, during this time—the medical building at the asylum opened and resulted in a variety of patient surgeries including lobotomies, abortions, sterilizations, and hysterectomies. During the 1960’s, there was a shift of title to the “Vermont State Hospital.” Around this time, patients started receiving muscle-relaxants to help prevent the risk of broken bones during electroshock therapy. Electroshock therapy was not as highly-utilized. In the 1970’s, the hospital leans more towards a community-based living, sending patients out of the hospital and into other programs. Psychotropic medications are given to patients during the 1980’s – 1990’s. in 2000, the Vermont Commission on Psychological Trauma reported a concern that facilities such as the Vermont State Hospital, may cause more trauma than healing for patients. In late 2011, tropical storm Irene floods the Vermont State Hospital for the second time since it was established. At that point in time, there were 52 patients who were evacuated to other inpatient treatment centers, as well as to the community, and correctional facilities throughout the state.
In the 1930’s, patients who were being disruptive would be strapped to a table. This form of treatment was called, “colonic irrigation.” Patients with epilepsy had to wear a bath gown 24 hours a day, while they were tied to benches with their arms tied behind their backs during the daytime. If you were a “disturbed female,” you would be immersed in a cold-water bath. There were also seclusion rooms with chains at the basement of the facility. In the 1950’s one of the “best practices” included an electroshock treatment called the Blitz. This treatment left many patients with broken bones. If this treatment did not prove successful, patients were put into insulin comas. Also, during this time—the medical building at the asylum opened and resulted in a variety of patient surgeries including lobotomies, abortions, sterilizations, and hysterectomies. During the 1960’s, there was a shift of title to the “Vermont State Hospital.” Around this time, patients started receiving muscle-relaxants to help prevent the risk of broken bones during electroshock therapy. Electroshock therapy was not as highly-utilized. In the 1970’s, the hospital leans more towards a community-based living, sending patients out of the hospital and into other programs. Psychotropic medications are given to patients during the 1980’s – 1990’s. in 2000, the Vermont Commission on Psychological Trauma reported a concern that facilities such as the Vermont State Hospital, may cause more trauma than healing for patients. In late 2011, tropical storm Irene floods the Vermont State Hospital for the second time since it was established. At that point in time, there were 52 patients who were evacuated to other inpatient treatment centers, as well as to the community, and correctional facilities throughout the state.
In 1960, 1,240 Vermonters lived on the Waterbury campus, and more than 160 died. In 2003, two patients at the Vermont State Hospital committed suicide. This resulted in federal officials denying Medicare and Medicaid funding for the hospital. The U.S. Department of Justice referred to the conditions at the hospital as “prison-like.”
I would not want to be treated at the Waterbury Asylum. The
conditions were very in-humane and had no scientific basis. I used to work in the new building: the
Waterbury State Office Complex. I also worked for the UVM archaeological field
crew during college. I will not forget digging tests pits on the lawn of the
Vermont State Hospital, and finding dolls, glasses, string and plastic dentures...Endless amounts
of things in a single test pit. It definitely left an impression on me.
It was so interesting to do the research because I couldn't find much on the Brattleboro retreat and I wondered why. It appeared as thought everyone who entered Brattleboro was to be treated as humanely as possible. They had many activities that one could be involved with such as the only facility with a swimming pool. There were walking paths, a working farm, crocket games etc. The rooms were big with big windows. The grant to start the first Vermont Asylum was from a Dr.'s wife and these were her request. The hospital was open for about 60 years. I think the treatment was too good, therefore, there wasn't much history written about it. Your portal of the new hospital is horrible and I know I've heard some horror stories about it. At one of the employee appreciation days there was a powerpoint shown of the hospital to celebrate the programing we have now, it was so depressing to see the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a horrible place to be sent for "treatment". Reading the narratives of patients and the awful things they went through is disheartening. One story that struck me was of the 2 girls who had all of their teeth pulled and were given hysterectomies as soon as they started menstruating. This reminds me of eugenics and the similar treatment (sterilization) that was given to these individuals. I wonder what their reasoning was behind pulling all of their teeth -- to prevent biting/injury to staff or the patients themselves? I find it hard to believe that every patient posed a threat that would require such harsh treatment. Even if they did see this as a hazard, surely there are better ways to handle this issue.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think, some of this was happening not too long ago...so awful.
ReplyDelete