|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 5
In this retired and ideal spot the work of Bloomingdale Hospital was
successfully prosecuted for three-quarters of a century. But the seven
miles that separated it from the old hospital was steadily built over,
and before fifty years had gone the growth of the city had passed the
asylum grounds. Foreseeing that they could not maintain that verdant
oasis intact for many years longer, the Governors, in 1868, bought this
300-acre tract on the outskirts of the Village of White Plains. After
prolonged consideration of the time and method of development of the
property, final plans were adopted in December, 1891, construction was
begun May 1, 1892, and two years later, under the direction of our
Medical Superintendent, Dr. Samuel B. Lyon, all the patients were moved
from the old to this new Bloomingdale. The cost of the new buildings was
about $1,500,000. From time to time the original Bloomingdale site was
sold and now supplies room, among other structures, for Columbia
University, Barnard College, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St.
Luke's Hospital, the Woman's Hospital, and the National Academy of
Design. With the proceeds of those sales of the old Bloomingdale, not
only was the cost of the new Bloomingdale met, but the permanent
endowment of the Society was substantially increased, and Thomas Eddy
was proved to have been both a wise humanitarian and a far-sighted
steward of charitable funds.
In their "Address to the Public" to which I have referred, issued when
Bloomingdale Hospital was opened in 1821, the Governors of the Society
spoke of the new conception of moral treatment of the mentally afflicted
which had been established in several European hospitals and which was
supplanting the harsh and cruel usage of former days, as "one of the
noblest triumphs of pure and enlightened benevolence." In that same
spirit those founders dedicated themselves to the conduct of this
institution. Their devotion to the work was impressive. Looking back on
those early days we see a constant personal attention to the details of
institutional life that commands admiration. The standards then set have
become a tradition that has been preserved unbroken for a hundred years.
Humane methods of care, the progressively best that medical science can
devise, the utilization of a growingly productive pursuit of research,
have consistently marked the administration of this great trust. The
Governors of to-day are as determined as any of their predecessors to
maintain that ideal of "pure and enlightened benevolence." New paths are
opening and larger resources are becoming available. Under the guidance
of our distinguished Medical Superintendent, with his able and devoted
staff of physicians, a broader and more intensive development is
already under way. Animated by that resolve and cheered by that
prospect, we may thus confidently hope, as we begin the second century
of Bloomingdale's career, for results not less fruitful and gratifying
than those which we celebrate to-day.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Address of the Governors of the New York Hospital, to the
Public, relative to the Asylum for the Insane at Bloomingdale, New York,
May 10th, 1821. Reprinted by Bloomingdale Hospital Press, White Plains,
May 26, 1921. See Appendix V, p. 212.]
ADDRESS BY
DR. ADOLF MEYER
_The Chairman_: In celebrating our centenary we are naturally dealing
also with the larger subject of general psychiatry. Our success in this
discussion should be materially promoted by the presence with us of Dr.
Adolf Meyer, Professor of Psychiatry in the Medical School of Johns
Hopkins University, and Director of the Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, of
Baltimore. Before taking up this important work in that famous medical
centre, Dr. Meyer was actively engaged for several years in psychopathic
work in New York. He will speak to us on "THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF
PSYCHIATRY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE PROBLEMS."
DR. MEYER
When Dr. Russell honored me with the invitation to speak at this
centenary celebration of the renowned Bloomingdale Hospital, my
immediate impulse was to choose as my topic a phase of psychiatric
development to which this Hospital has especially contributed through
our greatly missed August Hoch and his deeply appreciated coworker
Amsden. I have in mind the great gain in concreteness of the physician's
work with mind and the resulting contribution of psychiatry to a better
knowledge of human life and its problems. The great gain this passing
century is able to hand on to its successor is the clearer recognition
of just what the psychiatrist actually works with and works on.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|