Wilson Wolfe
Ms. Chelsea Gordon Klopp
En 101-126
October 20, 2017
Bryce Hospital
Bryce Hospital, originally known as the Alabama State Hospital for the Insane and later as the Alabama Insane Hospital is located on the campus of the University of Alabama. With construction starting in 1853, the hospital was the first building in Tuscaloosa with central heat and gas lighting when it was completed in 1859. The hospital included 268 beds with multiple wings. Now days, the hospital has fallen into shambles due to years of neglect, but since it has been purchased by the University of Alabama there have been plans to renovate and breath life back into the old hospital.
Bryce is has a white facade on the outside and on the inside it has become very dilapidated on the interior due to years of not being used. I realized how beautiful it is on the outside and to think that it is falling apart on the inside is such a shame. Obviously you can’t tell what is going on inside due to it being blocked off but it is beautiful on the outside. The University of Alabama is currently in the process of renovating the hospital and turning it into a performing arts center which would make use of the existing space and would be a great way to breath some life back into the place. I believe that it is amazing that they are not going to be tearing the building down and that they actually found another purpose for it other than just a museum for Mental Health.
Patients that were kept at the hospital started writing their own newspaper which they called The Meteor. The paper was written from 1872-1881. The Meteor was originally intended for the benefit of the patients and to explain the operations of the hospital to its readers of the paper. Towards the end of the papers life span, the editors started to use the paper to inform friends and family as well as state newspapers and the government of the condition inside the hospital and the purpose of the hospital. One of the major talking points of the hospital and of the newspaper was that the use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and in 1882 they finally did away and eliminated them all together. During the 20th century the patient care started to decline rapidly due to the funds that had been allotted for mental health being cut. In 1970, Bryce Hospital had approximately 5,200 patients and it had been said that the patient quality as well as the care that was being provided was similar to a concentration camp or the Gulag. Bryce Hospital was finally closed on April 18,1977 after 118 years of use.
In 1970 there was a lawsuit on behalf of Rickey Wyatt who was 15 at the time, who had always been labeled a "juvenile delinquent" and housed at Bryce despite not being indicated with a mental illness, became the named plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit. His aunt, was one of the employees who had been laid off and they believe that she was one of the main reasons that this lawsuit was filed. Together they testified that there were intolerable conditions and improper treatments which were used only to make the patients easier to manage and maintain. In 1971 the the lawsuit was expanded to include patients at another Alabama mental health hospital. Searcy Hospital, which is located in Mount Vernon was the other hospital that was included. The resulting court-ordered agreements formed the basis for federal minimum standards for the care of people with mental illness who reside in institutional settings. These standards were know as the “Wyatt Standards” and are as follows: humane psychological and physical environment, qualified and sufficient staff for administration of treatment, individualized treatment plans, and minimum restriction of patient freedom. The case of Wyatt v. Stickney came to a conclusion after 33 years, which saw the tenure of nine Alabama governors and fourteen different state mental health commissioners. Wyatt v. Stickney is the longest mental health case in the history of the United States. It is estimated that the State of Alabama spent $15 million on legal expenses throughout the case.
I think that the saving of Bryce Hospital and its restoration is an absolute must due to the significance that is has not only on the University but the United States. Bryce has set standards to be followed in the mental health world and that is a piece of history which needs to be preserved. I think that the administration building which is what everyone sees when you first drive to it with its white columns must be saved and restored to its former beauty. I think that once the interior of Bryce Hospital is renovated and everything is converted to a performing arts center the whole area will become a place that people will want to visit. Bryce has a lot of history and that is something that needs to be cherished and protected and not allowed to rot away.