Chiprean 1

Anna Chiprean
Burke
Honors English 11
May 22, 2017
Annotated Bibliography: Mental Institutions

Correspondent, TOM MARQUARDT Special. "Tragic Chapter of Crownsville State Hospital's

Legacy." Capitalgazette.com. Capital Gazette, 15 Apr. 2016. Web. 17 May 2017.

<http://www.capitalgazette.com/cg-tragic-chapter-of-crownsville-state-hospitals-legacy-

20140730-story.html#>.

Researches named Paul Lurz and Janice Hayes-Williams went to Crownsville State

Hospital to find studies on the negro insane. During their research they found that over

30% of patients died in the institution because of medical research done on them. Lurz

stated that it is common for mentally ill patients to be used for testing and treatments.

There were 103 patients who entered therapy rooms and surgery suites to undergo insulin

shock treatments for epilepsy. Most patients did not come out cured or even healed in the

slightest, most suffered further medical problems and a few even died. From the records

that Lurz found, he discovered that 33 lobotomies were performed on people who had

trouble communicating and understanding directions. Out of the 1,800 patients in the

hospital, 56 were injected with malaria and were given many forms of hydrotherapy

which is the process where a person is submerged in hot or cold water. Another procedure

that was done on most patients, especially children and young adults, was

pneumoencephalography. This is the process where a small hole is drilled into the skull

and the fluid around the brain is drained. The fluid was often replaced with oxygen or
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helium so doctors could take better X-rays of the brain. Patients who underwent this

procedure often suffered from headaches and vomiting (vomiting lead to the trachea

being distorted) until the fluid was restored to the brain. Doctors also further explored

their studies by inserting metal probes into the brain study the temporal nerves. George

Phelps, the first black deputy in the country says when you went to Crownsville, it

wasnt because you were mentally ill, but because you were black. Many people brought

their children to Crownsville because they couldnt afford or want to take care of their

children. In 1955 there were 35 patients in the nursery and 169 under the age of 16. These

children were injected with hepatitis. The experimental procedures were replaced with

anti-psychotic drugs which often caused outbursts and fantasies. By the time Crownsville

closed, 92 patients were recorded dead.

"Deinstitutionalization." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, Web. 21 May 2017.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/asylums/special/excerpt.html>.

Deinstitutionalization began when mental institutions became over crowded. It is the

process of moving severely mentally ill people out of a large institutions and then closing

parts of the institutions. This became popular in 1955 when less funds were given to

hospitals and more medications were made to help people function in our society. This is

one of the largest social experiments in American history. 92% of people who were living

in a mental facility in 1955 were not living there in 1994.

Though deinstitutionalization helped to stop overcrowding, it created a mental illness

crisis. During this time, patients were discharged without getting proper medication or
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treatment. Most patients were severely ill. Between 50% and 60% were diagnosed with

schizophrenia. 10% to 15% were diagnosed with manic-depressive illness and severe

depression. 2.2 million people are diagnosed mentally ill but choose not to get help

because of what happens there and the side effects to medications. The mentally ill walk

among what we call regular or normal people without notice because they have received

proper help and are not stuck in a bed like todays standards would believe. Other ill

people also walk among us afraid of whats happening in their body or minds. There too

afraid to seek help because they think itll get worse. Often times, people with these

mental illnesses commit suicide or lock themselves away like what would happen in a

facility.

"History of Mental Health Treatment." Dual Diagnosis. Web. 17 May 2017.

<http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/history/>.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the government gave less funds to mental institutions

causing them to turn away and discharge patients. Most patients who were discharged

were those that could be put back into the community. They were moved into assisted

living facilities. Those who were discharged but not rehabilitated often became homeless

and died on the streets. In a study, 28% of homeless people had a mental disability. In the

early 2000s many agencies worked to provide the disabled the help that they need to

prosper in and throughout the community. During this time, social workers, mental health

counselors, and other professionals have all been in the deinstitutionalization movement.

Now many people with mental disabilities find out early in their life and are prescribed
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appropriate medications to help improve their function and help with keeping them calm.

Treatment plans are available for all those who want them. The government has also

changed many of its laws which including desegregation in medical facilities and laws

that allow concerned family and community members to place the mentally disabled

people inside facilities where they can receive help. Over the years it is clear that people

now understand and respect people with mental disabilities compared to previous years.

Instead of torturing patients, doctors now want to partner with them to make sure they are

given the best care possible. This is unlike 50 years ago where patients were used as test

subjects without giving permission. Like stated before, there are laws that help protect the

patients and gives them many rights.

Skloot, Rebecca. "Chapter 33 The Hospital for the Negro Insane." The Immortal Life of

Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway, 2017. 268-78. Print.

In this chapter, Rebecca Skloot, the author, takes Deborah Lacks, Henrietta Lacks

youngest daughter, to Crownsville State Hospital to find information on her older sister,

Elsie, who was a patient there. For a hospital for African Americans at this time, you

wouldnt expect it to look any nicer than a junk yard. Skloot describes the hospital as a

large campus with bright green hills, perfectly mowed lawns, walking paths, weeping

cherry trees, and picnic tables. Its main building was red brick with white columns, its

porch decorated with wide chairs and chandeliers. It looked like a nice place. On the

outside the facility looked nice and comforting, but behind its closed doors was a history

of sadness, disease, and death. After Deborah and Skloot walk in to the building, they
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wonder the halls looking for someone to help them. They eventually find someone in an

office and ask several questions about Elsie. Paul Lurz, the man at the desk says that

Crownsville wasnt that nice of place to be in 1955 if you were African American. Elsie

died in 1955, during the experimental procedure period. They got a copy of her autopsy

report and are amazed because there is a picture of her inside it which was very rare. This

is the first time Deborah has ever seen a picture of her sister. When she sees the

photograph she breaks down crying. Deborah says that in the picture, Elsie looks like

shes wondering where her family is at and why her hair is a mess. In the photograph,

they notice that a white man has his hands wrapped around Elsies neck as if he were

choking her. When they look at her chart, the report says that Elsie had Idiocy that was

directly connected with syphilis, self-induced vomiting, and vomiting of clotted blood.

After reading through Elsies autopsy, Deborah and Skloot look through old newspapers

and magazines that were published in the 1950s. The come across an article that

explained that Crownsville was often overcrowded and more people died then were

discharged. In the hospital, a large number of people (mostly black), who were filled with

disease, were crammed into small rooms. They were locked into poorly ventilated rooms

with drains on the floor instead of toilets. The patients locked in the rooms were of

different age and sex and often sex offenders were among them. During the overcrowding

periods, doctors would often use the patients for experiments. The patients often didnt

know what was going on or even give consent at this time. Elsie was among these

patients. She underwent a procedure called pneumoencephalgraphy. During this

procedure, the fluid around the brain is drained and replaced with helium or oxygen. This
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procedure is done purely to take pictures of the brain in more detail. This procedure often

caused vomiting and is what Elsie most likely died from.

"Top 10 Forms of Psychiatric Institution Abuse." CCHR International.16 Sept. 2015. Web. 21

May 2017.<https://www.cchrint.org/2014/11/13/top-10-forms-of-psychiatric-

institution-abuse/>.

In the 1950s, many methods of controlling the patients in mental hospitals are not what

we use now. Many patients were often moved roughly, drugged, and used in experiments.

Because most hospitals were overcrowded, many patients were quickly examined and

misdiagnosed. This was often because doctors didnt have time and had a hard time examining

the patients. After patients were admitted to the hospital and started treatment. Many patients

were not properly notified of the details of their treatments. Legally, all psychiatric patients have

the same rights of informed consent just like any other medical patient. Since most patients lost

their minds, the doctors took it upon themselves to make a medical treatment profile. Since

doctors didnt properly diagnose or find out a patients full medical history, the patients were

often overdosed with medications. The psychiatric drugs they give do aim to calm patients down

and help to make them into functioning individuals. But most times patients are kept at such a

high dose of medication that they often have to be dragged places so they can further be

controlled. As a result of the over drugging, patients often had living difficulties, disorientation,

abnormal weight gain and weight loss, impaired coordination, and extreme anxiety.

When patients werent heavily dosed with calming drugs, they would often be punished, put in

isolation, and violent restraints were used. When a patient doesnt follow rules like a nurse or
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doctor wants, the patients would be put into restraints that often lead to injury and in extreme

cases, death. Every year in the U.S., up to 150 cases of restraints leading to death get reported.

Most of these deaths occur from harsh beatings, bloodletting, chest compression, traumatic

asphyxia, and many others. These restraint procedures qualify as assault, but are often dismissed

by the law. Patients are often treated as if theyre children because their brain in lacking in some

areas. When trying to control patients they are often punished like a child would be. Some

include timeout, the taking away of objects, and some sort of organized chore.