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Fractured Intentions: A History of Central State Hospital for the Insane
They came from everyday life. Their illnesses knew no socioeconomic boundaries. Locking people in cabins, smokehouses and outdoor pens was not the answer. Leaving them in county homes was no solution. Turing to doctors for help, families hoped for the best. The State of Indiana and doctors agreed on the need for hospitals to help the mentally ill. To understand the history of Central State Hospital, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Nicole Kobrowski began the story on the practices of European and Colonial roots. These theories and methods, including a way a hospital should be built and operated, influenced Central State Hospital and mental health in Indiana.Kobrowski gives readers a comprehensive historical view of Indiana's first psychiatric causes of insanity, operations and staffing, architecture and buildings, legislative acts, burials and cemeteries, and other historical information.
- GenresNonfiction
226 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 22, 2015
While some historical buildings are gradually torn from our landscape, Kobrowski rebuilds the Central State Hospital for the Insane with photos, documented first person accounts, and historical facts in her book Fractured Intentions. In this sense, the book is a time capsule and provides an afterlife for Indiana’s first psychiatric facility.
It’s a sobering thought to consider early definitions of “insanity” and Kobrowski points out the use of the word is “not to reflect my feelings toward people with mental health issues.” (prologue) One could find themselves committed for menopause, infertility, and common phobias. Kobrowski approaches both the predicaments of staff and patients with respect. The author’s considerate tone matches the hospital’s hiring procedures recommending attendants possess “that indefinable something that can only be called tact.” (p46)
Detailed lists offer insight into the complexities of managing such a large facility as well as budgetary issues. It seems the more society understood the need for quality mental healthcare, the less the state allotted funds towards it. Stories from former staff shed light on a career requiring big hearts but with little pay.
Stories range from the 1886 accounts of Albert Thayer and the “unheard of cruelties” (p74) that existed in the facility to the early 1970s investigative reporting of Skip Hess “about the abuses, neglect, infestation, and filth at the hospital.” (p170) Despite the horror stories, Chapter 12 interviews offer first-person experiences of staff expressing dismay with the conditions and a sadness that many patients “lived there most of their lives.” (p165)
Fractured Intentions is an informative and intriguing read for history and medical buffs and even includes some reports of paranormal activity. I highly recommend this book for those interested in mental health or writing about such issues and their facilities. Kobrowski brings Central State Hospital and its inhabitants alive so the reader can immerse themselves in a world that has slowly gone but not forgotten.
It’s a sobering thought to consider early definitions of “insanity” and Kobrowski points out the use of the word is “not to reflect my feelings toward people with mental health issues.” (prologue) One could find themselves committed for menopause, infertility, and common phobias. Kobrowski approaches both the predicaments of staff and patients with respect. The author’s considerate tone matches the hospital’s hiring procedures recommending attendants possess “that indefinable something that can only be called tact.” (p46)
Detailed lists offer insight into the complexities of managing such a large facility as well as budgetary issues. It seems the more society understood the need for quality mental healthcare, the less the state allotted funds towards it. Stories from former staff shed light on a career requiring big hearts but with little pay.
Stories range from the 1886 accounts of Albert Thayer and the “unheard of cruelties” (p74) that existed in the facility to the early 1970s investigative reporting of Skip Hess “about the abuses, neglect, infestation, and filth at the hospital.” (p170) Despite the horror stories, Chapter 12 interviews offer first-person experiences of staff expressing dismay with the conditions and a sadness that many patients “lived there most of their lives.” (p165)
Fractured Intentions is an informative and intriguing read for history and medical buffs and even includes some reports of paranormal activity. I highly recommend this book for those interested in mental health or writing about such issues and their facilities. Kobrowski brings Central State Hospital and its inhabitants alive so the reader can immerse themselves in a world that has slowly gone but not forgotten.
November 4, 2015
Information is presented factually instead of sensationally, which is appreciated. The layout of the information was difficult to follow at times, and there were multiple grammatical errors that were distracting. However, it is a good resource for learning more about this facility and some of the patients and employees.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews