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Bryce Hospital

January 01, 1970

Bryce Hospital opened in 1861 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. It is Alabama's oldest and largest inpatient psychiatric facility. First known as the Alabama State Hospital for the Insane[2] and later as the Alabama Insane Hospital, the building is considered an architectural model.[3] The hospital houses 268 beds for acute care, treatment and rehabilitation of full-time (committed) patients. The Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatry Hospital, a separate facility on the same campus, provides an additional 100 beds for inpatient geriatric care. The main facility was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[1]

Bryce Hospital
Front of Administration Building, the first and oldest building on campus, completed in 1859.
Geography
LocationTuscaloosa, Alabama, United States
Coordinates33°12′59″N 87°32′18″W / 33.21626°N 87.53831°W / 33.21626; -87.53831
Organization
Care systemPublic
TypeSpecialist
Services
Beds268
SpecialityPsychiatric hospital
History
Opened1861
Links
ListsHospitals in Alabama
Alabama Insane Hospital
LocationUniversity Blvd., Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Area17 acres (7 ha)
Built1853–59
ArchitectSloan, Samuel, et al.; Stewart
Architectural styleMixed (more than 2 styles from different periods), Italianate, Roman Revival
NRHP reference No.77000216[1]
Added to NRHPApril 18, 1977

History edit

The plans for a state hospital for the mentally ill in Alabama began in 1852. The new facility was planned from the start to utilize the "moral architecture" concepts of 1830s activists Thomas Story Kirkbride and Dorothea Dix. Dix's reformist ideas, in particular, are credited as the driving force behind the construction of the hospital. Architect Samuel Sloan designed the Italianate building using the Kirkbride Plan. Construction of the building began in 1853 but was not completed until 1859. The hospital was the first building in Tuscaloosa with gas lighting and central heat,[4] "all clad in a fashionable Italianate exterior."[2]

The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861. It was later renamed for its first superintendent, Peter Bryce, who had first begun as a 27-year-old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina. Bryce had been brought to the attention of the hospital trustees by Dix. He had studied mental-health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey, as well as his native state of South Carolina.[4] His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital. He demanded that patients be given courtesy, kindness and respect at all times. The use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and finally abandoned altogether in 1882. Various work programs and other activities were encouraged, including farming, sewing, maintenance and crafts. Between 1872 and the early 1880s, some of the patients wrote and edited their newspaper, called The Meteor. These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century. At that time, Bryce's management and commitment to "scientific treatments" was recognized around the country as being in a class of its own.

Decline edit

During the 20th century, the patient population expanded while standards of care fell to abysmal levels. Alabama Governor Lurleen Wallace viewed the facility in February 1967, and was moved to tears after an overweight, mentally challenged nine-year-old attempted to hug her, crying, "Mama! Mama!" She lobbied her husband, George Wallace (who held the actual power of her governorship) for more funds for the institution.[5]

In 1970, Alabama ranked last among U.S. states in funding for mental health. Bryce Hospital at that time had 5,200 patients living in conditions that a Montgomery Advertiser editor likened to a concentration camp. That same year, a cigarette tax earmarked for mental-health treatment was cut. One hundred Bryce employees were laid off, including twenty professional staff. Members of the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama attempted to file suit on behalf of the laid-off workers, but Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson ruled that the courts had no standing to intervene on behalf of fired employees. He left open, however, the possibility of a suit filed on behalf of patients, whose quality of care was affected.

Wyatt v. Stickney edit

In October 1970, Ricky Wyatt, a fifteen-year-old who had always been labeled a "juvenile delinquent" and housed at Bryce despite not being diagnosed with a mental illness, became the named plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit.[6] His aunt, Mildred Hunter Rawlins, was one of the employees who had been laid off.[7] Together they testified about intolerable conditions and improper treatments designed only to make the patients more manageable. In 1971, the plaintiff class was expanded to include patients at Alabama's other inpatient mental health facilities, Searcy Hospital (Mt. Vernon), which from 1902 until 1939 was the only state facility serving African American patients,[8] Partlow State School (Tuscaloosa), and the Jemison Center[9] (Coker), which served African American patients in the northern half of the state from 1939 to 1969. Wyatt v. Stickney's resulting court-ordered agreements formed the basis for federal minimum standards for the care of people with mental illness or developmental disabilities who reside in institutional settings. In 1999, a new settlement agreement was made, recognizing a great deal of progress. The case was finally dismissed on December 5, 2003, with the finding by Judge Myron H. Thompson that Alabama complied with the agreement.

The standards elaborated in that agreement have served as a model nationwide. Known as the "Wyatt Standards," they are founded on four criteria for evaluation of care:

  • Humane psychological and physical environment
  • Qualified and sufficient staff for the administration of treatment
  • Individualized treatment plans
  • Minimum restriction of patient freedom.

The case of Wyatt v. Stickney concluded after 33 years, the longest mental health case in United States history. The State of Alabama estimates its litigation expenses at over $15 million.[6]

Future edit

Gov. Bob Riley announced on December 30, 2009, that Bryce Hospital was to relocate into a newly constructed facility across McFarland Boulevard in Tuscaloosa, and The University of Alabama (UA) would take over the current Bryce campus. For several years the university had sought the 180-acre (73 ha) parcel of land, which is adjacent to its landlocked campus.[10]

Riley said that a hospital for about 268 patients had been envisioned but the final size was yet to be determined. The deal, approved by Gov. Bob Riley and the Alabama Department of Mental Health on December 30, 2009, was worth $72 million in cash, including the construction of a replacement hospital, which was done under UA's supervision and direction. The university paid $50 million in cash and Mental Health received another $22 million in state bond money. The university pledged another $10 million to clean up environmental problems on the Bryce grounds and restore the main hospital building, construction of which started in 1853.[10]

The sale of Bryce Hospital and Harper Center to UA was finalized on May 27, 2010, for $87.75 million. $77 million would go to installments plus the aforementioned $10 million for ground improvements.[11] In 2014, the remaining patients were moved to the new Bryce Hospital,[12] constructed on the former Partlow Center grounds,[13] and UA began a restoration project estimated at $40 million. Dan Wolfe, the University of Alabama planner, revealed the two buildings will house a welcome center, two museums focusing on mental health and the history of the university, event space and classrooms for performing arts students. The $83,750,000 project is ongoing.[12][14]

Gallery edit

  •  
    Entrance gate to the campus
  •  
    Detail of front portico on the Administration Building
  •  
    A postcard depicting Bryce Hospital around the turn of the 20th century
  •  
    Abandoned building on the campus
  •  
    Admission building, where most patients are located

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Lupold, John S.; Thomas L. French (2004). Bridging deep south rivers: the life and legend of Horace King. U of Georgia P. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-8203-2626-9.
  3. ^ Carla Yanni, The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States, Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press, 2007, 59-64
  4. ^ a b Weaver, Bill (June 5, 2008). "Bryce Hospital (Alabama Insane Hospital)". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  5. ^ Carter, Dan T. (2000). The politics of rage: George Wallace, the origins of the new conservatism, and the transformation of American politics. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-8071-2597-7.
  6. ^ a b Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2009
  7. ^ Wyatt v. Stickney, vol. 325, March 12, 1971, p. 781, retrieved 2023-10-27.
  8. ^ Kazek, Kelly (2016-09-06). . al.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  9. ^ Abu-Baker, Reem. Documentary Reader: African American Patients in Tuscaloosa’s Mental Hospitals. Fall 2019. https://hgreen.people.ua.edu/uploads/6/3/7/7/63777429/abubaker_documentarychapter.pdf
  10. ^ a b Bryce Hospital to remain in Tuscaloosa, [1]
  11. ^ http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/05/88_million_sale_of_bryce_hospi.html November 5, 2017
  12. ^ a b Kazek, Kelly (November 5, 2017). "Inside the spooky skeleton of Bryce, Alabama's historic insane hospital, as it undergoes restoration". Al.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  13. ^ "ADMH Community Integration Timeline" (PDF). Alabama Department of Mental Health. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  14. ^ "Peter Bryce Main Renovation – Building Bama | The University of Alabama". Retrieved 2023-10-27.

Further reading edit

  • Robert O. Mellown. (Spring 1994). "Mental Health and Moral Architecture." Alabama Heritage. Issue #32.
  • Rev. Joseph Camp. (1882) An Insight into an Insane Asylum., self-published "exposé" of conditions at Bryce.
  • John S. Hughes, editor (1993). The Letters of a Victorian Madwoman. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-840-9, the letters of Andrew Sheffield giving details of a woman's life at Bryce at the end of the 19th century.
  • Bill L. Weaver (January 1996) "Survival at the Alabama Insane Hospital, 1861-1892," Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 51, pages 5–28.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Bryce State Mental Hospital at Wikimedia Commons
  • Burt Rieff. (April 1999) "Meteor: The "remarkable enterprise" at the Alabama Insane Hospital, 1872-1881", The Alabama Review, [2] - accessed August 23, 2005.
  • Clarence J. Sundram. (2003) "Wyatt v. Stickney - A Long Odyssey Reaches an End." American Association on Mental Retardation. - accessed August 23, 2005.
  • History of Mental Health in Alabama on the - accessed January 4, 2011.
  • Photos of the abandoned Kirkbride and treatment buildings
  • Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. AL-941, "Robert Jemison Plantation, Byler Road, Northport, Tuscaloosa County, AL", 1 photo, 4 data pages, 1 photo caption page

January 01, 1970
bryce, hospital, opened, 1861, tuscaloosa, alabama, united, states, alabama, oldest, largest, inpatient, psychiatric, facility, first, known, alabama, state, hospital, insane, later, alabama, insane, hospital, building, considered, architectural, model, hospit. Bryce Hospital opened in 1861 in Tuscaloosa Alabama United States It is Alabama s oldest and largest inpatient psychiatric facility First known as the Alabama State Hospital for the Insane 2 and later as the Alabama Insane Hospital the building is considered an architectural model 3 The hospital houses 268 beds for acute care treatment and rehabilitation of full time committed patients The Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatry Hospital a separate facility on the same campus provides an additional 100 beds for inpatient geriatric care The main facility was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 1 Bryce HospitalFront of Administration Building the first and oldest building on campus completed in 1859 GeographyLocationTuscaloosa Alabama United StatesCoordinates33 12 59 N 87 32 18 W 33 21626 N 87 53831 W 33 21626 87 53831OrganizationCare systemPublicTypeSpecialistServicesBeds268SpecialityPsychiatric hospitalHistoryOpened1861LinksListsHospitals in AlabamaAlabama Insane HospitalU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of AlabamaShow map of the United StatesLocationUniversity Blvd Tuscaloosa AlabamaArea17 acres 7 ha Built1853 59ArchitectSloan Samuel et al StewartArchitectural styleMixed more than 2 styles from different periods Italianate Roman RevivalNRHP reference No 77000216 1 Added to NRHPApril 18 1977 Contents 1 History 2 Decline 3 Wyatt v Stickney 4 Future 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory editThe plans for a state hospital for the mentally ill in Alabama began in 1852 The new facility was planned from the start to utilize the moral architecture concepts of 1830s activists Thomas Story Kirkbride and Dorothea Dix Dix s reformist ideas in particular are credited as the driving force behind the construction of the hospital Architect Samuel Sloan designed the Italianate building using the Kirkbride Plan Construction of the building began in 1853 but was not completed until 1859 The hospital was the first building in Tuscaloosa with gas lighting and central heat 4 all clad in a fashionable Italianate exterior 2 The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861 It was later renamed for its first superintendent Peter Bryce who had first begun as a 27 year old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina Bryce had been brought to the attention of the hospital trustees by Dix He had studied mental health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey as well as his native state of South Carolina 4 His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital He demanded that patients be given courtesy kindness and respect at all times The use of shackles straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged and finally abandoned altogether in 1882 Various work programs and other activities were encouraged including farming sewing maintenance and crafts Between 1872 and the early 1880s some of the patients wrote and edited their newspaper called The Meteor These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century At that time Bryce s management and commitment to scientific treatments was recognized around the country as being in a class of its own Decline editDuring the 20th century the patient population expanded while standards of care fell to abysmal levels Alabama Governor Lurleen Wallace viewed the facility in February 1967 and was moved to tears after an overweight mentally challenged nine year old attempted to hug her crying Mama Mama She lobbied her husband George Wallace who held the actual power of her governorship for more funds for the institution 5 In 1970 Alabama ranked last among U S states in funding for mental health Bryce Hospital at that time had 5 200 patients living in conditions that a Montgomery Advertiser editor likened to a concentration camp That same year a cigarette tax earmarked for mental health treatment was cut One hundred Bryce employees were laid off including twenty professional staff Members of the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama attempted to file suit on behalf of the laid off workers but Federal Judge Frank M Johnson ruled that the courts had no standing to intervene on behalf of fired employees He left open however the possibility of a suit filed on behalf of patients whose quality of care was affected Wyatt v Stickney editIn October 1970 Ricky Wyatt a fifteen year old who had always been labeled a juvenile delinquent and housed at Bryce despite not being diagnosed with a mental illness became the named plaintiff in a class action lawsuit 6 His aunt Mildred Hunter Rawlins was one of the employees who had been laid off 7 Together they testified about intolerable conditions and improper treatments designed only to make the patients more manageable In 1971 the plaintiff class was expanded to include patients at Alabama s other inpatient mental health facilities Searcy Hospital Mt Vernon which from 1902 until 1939 was the only state facility serving African American patients 8 Partlow State School Tuscaloosa and the Jemison Center 9 Coker which served African American patients in the northern half of the state from 1939 to 1969 Wyatt v Stickney s resulting court ordered agreements formed the basis for federal minimum standards for the care of people with mental illness or developmental disabilities who reside in institutional settings In 1999 a new settlement agreement was made recognizing a great deal of progress The case was finally dismissed on December 5 2003 with the finding by Judge Myron H Thompson that Alabama complied with the agreement The standards elaborated in that agreement have served as a model nationwide Known as the Wyatt Standards they are founded on four criteria for evaluation of care Humane psychological and physical environment Qualified and sufficient staff for the administration of treatment Individualized treatment plans Minimum restriction of patient freedom The case of Wyatt v Stickney concluded after 33 years the longest mental health case in United States history The State of Alabama estimates its litigation expenses at over 15 million 6 Future editThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information October 2023 Gov Bob Riley announced on December 30 2009 that Bryce Hospital was to relocate into a newly constructed facility across McFarland Boulevard in Tuscaloosa and The University of Alabama UA would take over the current Bryce campus For several years the university had sought the 180 acre 73 ha parcel of land which is adjacent to its landlocked campus 10 Riley said that a hospital for about 268 patients had been envisioned but the final size was yet to be determined The deal approved by Gov Bob Riley and the Alabama Department of Mental Health on December 30 2009 was worth 72 million in cash including the construction of a replacement hospital which was done under UA s supervision and direction The university paid 50 million in cash and Mental Health received another 22 million in state bond money The university pledged another 10 million to clean up environmental problems on the Bryce grounds and restore the main hospital building construction of which started in 1853 10 The sale of Bryce Hospital and Harper Center to UA was finalized on May 27 2010 for 87 75 million 77 million would go to installments plus the aforementioned 10 million for ground improvements 11 In 2014 the remaining patients were moved to the new Bryce Hospital 12 constructed on the former Partlow Center grounds 13 and UA began a restoration project estimated at 40 million Dan Wolfe the University of Alabama planner revealed the two buildings will house a welcome center two museums focusing on mental health and the history of the university event space and classrooms for performing arts students The 83 750 000 project is ongoing 12 14 Gallery edit nbsp Entrance gate to the campus nbsp Detail of front portico on the Administration Building nbsp A postcard depicting Bryce Hospital around the turn of the 20th century nbsp Abandoned building on the campus nbsp Admission building where most patients are locatedSee also editAlabama Department of Mental Health Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law The Meteor an internal paper published by the residents of Bryce Hospital between 1872 and 1881 References edit a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b Lupold John S Thomas L French 2004 Bridging deep south rivers the life and legend of Horace King U of Georgia P p 137 ISBN 978 0 8203 2626 9 Carla Yanni The Architecture of Madness Insane Asylums in the United States Minneapolis Minnesota University Press 2007 59 64 a b Weaver Bill June 5 2008 Bryce Hospital Alabama Insane Hospital The Encyclopedia of Alabama Retrieved March 26 2009 Carter Dan T 2000 The politics of rage George Wallace the origins of the new conservatism and the transformation of American politics Baton Rouge Louisiana State UP p 336 ISBN 978 0 8071 2597 7 a b Encyclopedia of Alabama 2009 Wyatt v Stickney vol 325 March 12 1971 p 781 retrieved 2023 10 27 Kazek Kelly 2016 09 06 The curious history of rapidly decaying Searcy Hospital al com Archived from the original on July 24 2019 Retrieved 2023 10 27 Abu Baker Reem Documentary Reader African American Patients in Tuscaloosa s Mental Hospitals Fall 2019 https hgreen people ua edu uploads 6 3 7 7 63777429 abubaker documentarychapter pdf a b Bryce Hospital to remain in Tuscaloosa 1 http blog al com spotnews 2010 05 88 million sale of bryce hospi html November 5 2017 a b Kazek Kelly November 5 2017 Inside the spooky skeleton of Bryce Alabama s historic insane hospital as it undergoes restoration Al com Retrieved 2022 06 18 ADMH Community Integration Timeline PDF Alabama Department of Mental Health Retrieved 2022 06 18 Peter Bryce Main Renovation Building Bama The University of Alabama Retrieved 2023 10 27 Further reading editRobert O Mellown Spring 1994 Mental Health and Moral Architecture Alabama Heritage Issue 32 Rev Joseph Camp 1882 An Insight into an Insane Asylum self published expose of conditions at Bryce John S Hughes editor 1993 The Letters of a Victorian Madwoman Columbia SC University of South Carolina Press ISBN 0 87249 840 9 the letters of Andrew Sheffield giving details of a woman s life at Bryce at the end of the 19th century Bill L Weaver January 1996 Survival at the Alabama Insane Hospital 1861 1892 Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 51 pages 5 28 External links edit nbsp Media related to Bryce State Mental Hospital at Wikimedia Commons Burt Rieff April 1999 Meteor The remarkable enterprise at the Alabama Insane Hospital 1872 1881 The Alabama Review 2 accessed August 23 2005 Clarence J Sundram 2003 Wyatt v Stickney A Long Odyssey Reaches an End American Association on Mental Retardation 3 accessed August 23 2005 History of Mental Health in Alabama on the ADMH Web site accessed January 4 2011 Photos of the abandoned Kirkbride and treatment buildings Historic American Buildings Survey HABS No AL 941 Robert Jemison Plantation Byler Road Northport Tuscaloosa County AL 1 photo 4 data pages 1 photo caption page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bryce Hospital amp oldid 1221843746 Wyatt v Stickney, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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