Post by Hazel Marie Avery on Nov 18, 2009 14:25:40 GMT -5
BARTONVILLE INSANE ASYLUM
*This RP is based off an actual insane asylum that was located in between Peoria and Pekin, Illinois.*
*This RP is based off an actual insane asylum that was located in between Peoria and Pekin, Illinois.*
The asylum was built in 1902. It implemented the “Cottage System”, meaning 33 different buildings were used to house patients of less serious conditions. Each of these buildings held ten patients and were considered co-ed living quarters. There are also homes for the nurses, a store, a power house, and a domestic building with a laundry facility, bakery and kitchen. These buildings were also implemented with another new system that had no window bars or restraints, something that was completely unheard of at the time.
The Bartonville Insane Asylum went against most traditional methods when dealing with patients with minor mental illnesses and/or syndromes. However, there was still a main building which had four levels to it and held various types of patients that did not qualify for the cottage system.
The first floor was a visiting area (though not that many people came to visit). The second floor was the children's ward, which was divided into thirds. The third floor held patients of chronic mental disease and repeat patients ( Patients who were considered less serious or suffered from minor illness in there first stay and returned). These three floors are split into thirds: female living quarters to the left, male living quarters to the right, and a gender-neutral day room in between that allowed socializing and group activities.
The fourth floor was the maximum security area and held several types of patients, ranging from the trouble makers of the grounds to the severely deranged patients that were sentenced here, either by family removing their rights to care for themselves due to inflicting harm to themselves or by being sentenced for a crime that they had committed. This is also were the treatment facilities were located. The staff member felt it was safer to move patients from the areas of the asylum here instead of the alternative. All patients on this floor live in solitary confinement, and never under any circumstances leave the fourth floor.
The Staff also realized that a system was needed for the burial of the dead at the hospital. They decided that the asylum would take care of the burials of the unclaimed, but that all other deceased persons would be shipped home to their relatives. The hospital’s burial ground eventually grew to include four cemeteries, which were located behind the main buildings. The older cemeteries are marked with stones that only bear numbers, as many of the patients came there without names. The newer cemeteries have stones bearing names, birth & death dates, and patient numbers.
They created a burial crew to deal with the disposal of those who passed away while in care of the hospital. The crew consisted of a staff member of the hospital and a half-dozen of the patients. While these men were still disturbed, all of them were competent enough to take part in the digging of the graves.
In 1906, the hospital opened a training school for nurses. Though the training was hard, it was never tedious. The older staff members would often pawn their work off on the new students; it was both a learning experience for the students, but it also allowed the attending nurses to get more work done.
The hospital was always run smoothly, but the asylum is nearing it’s 25th anniversary and the head physician has recently died due to the complications of his cancer. It’s now up to the staff to keep the insanity in a sane little box until the state medical board finds someone to replace him...