Page 10 - Demo

Vintage Postcards of Indiana Health FacilitiesHealthcare in Indiana, continuedPlan of a Kirkbride building, a popular design for 19th-century institutions. A central section housedadministration offices and common area, while the wings were for patient care and housing.their physical and mental condition justifies it.%u201d While this seemed enlightened, it sometimes led to lifetime commitments for patients who weren%u2019t considered improved enough to be released. Instead, they spent the rest of their years languishing in the State Hospital. In physical layout, a number of early mentalhealth facilities were designed according to the Kirkbride Plan%u2014a style advocated by a 19thcentury Philadelphia psychiatrist, Thomas Kirkbride. He believed a pleasant environment, plus exposure to natural light and air circulation, were crucial factors in healing the mentally ill. Most of these institutions had several interconnected patient wings sprawling outward from a central administration building. The Indiana State Hospital for the Insane was built in this configuration, with an administration area flanked with three patient wings on each side. It became known as the Seven Sisters. At the beginning of the 20th century, a different layout%u2014the Cottage Plan%u2014gained in popularity. It featured a multitude of smaller one- or twostory buildings, which were sometimes connected by a series of underground tunnels. These institutions were typically segregated by sex and patient type. A prominent administration building would often be near the front of the complex with common buildings used by patients%u2014e.g. chapel, kitchen, gymnasium, auditorium, etc.%u2014near the center of the site. The Indiana Village for Epileptics is an example of this approach. Nursing in Indiana Indiana%u2019s first nursing school opened in 1883 at the Indianapolis City Hospital with 9 students in the 2-year course. Five graduated, with Miss Margaret Iddings being the first graduate nurse in the state of Indiana. At least 8 other schools opened by 1900, including Lafayette%u2019s St. Elizabeth Training School for Nurses in 1897. In the early years, class size ranged from one to ten, and a high-school diploma was not required. While records are scarce, it seems that 60-100 hours of instruction were required, followed by clinical work, then more classwork. Training often included assisting with laundry, sewing, and switchboard duty, as well as helping out in the laboratory, administering hypodermics, and changing dressings.