- Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
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Creedmoor Psychiatric Center is a psychiatric hospital in Queens Village, Queens, New York, United States that provides inpatient, outpatient and residential services for severely mentally ill patients. The history of the hospital and its campus, which occupies more than 300 acres (1.2 km2) and includes more than 50 buildings[1], reflects both the urbanization of the borough of Queens, and a series of changes in psychiatric care.
Contents
Early history of the site
The hospital's name derives from the Creeds, a family that previously farmed the site. The local railroad station on a line that ran from Long Island City to Bethpage took the name Creedmoor, apparently from the phrase “Creed’s Moor,” describing the local geography [2]. In the early 1870s, New York State purchased land from the Creeds for use by the National Guard and by the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a firing range. The Creedmoor rifle range hosted prestigious international shooting competitions, which became the forerunner of the Palma Trophy competition.[1] In 1892, as a result of declining public interest and mounting noise complaints from the growing neighborhood, the NRA deeded its land back to the state.[1]
History of the hospital
In 1912, the Farm Colony of Brooklyn State Hospital was opened, with 32 patients, at Creedmoor by the Lunacy Commission of New York State, reflecting a trend towards sending the swelling population of urban psychiatric patients to the fresh air of outlying areas. By 1918, Creedmoor’s own census had swollen to 150, housed in the abandoned National Guard barracks. By 1959, the hospital housed 7,000 inpatients.[3] Creedmoor is described as a crowded, understaffed institution in Susan Sheehan's Is There No Place On Earth For Me? (1982), a biography of a patient pseudonymously called Sylvia Frumkin. Dr. Lauretta Bender, child neuropsychiatrist, has been reported as practicing there in the 1950s and '60s.
The hospital's census had declined by the early 1960s, however, as the introduction of new medications, along with other factors, led to the deinstitutionalization of many psychiatric patients around the world. In 1975, the land in Glen Oaks formerly used to raise food for the hospital was opened to the public as the Queens County Farm Museum. Another part of the campus in Glen Oaks was developed into the Queens Children's Psychiatric Center. In 2004, the remaining part of Creedmoor land in Glen Oaks was developed into the Glen Oaks public school campus, including The Queens High School of Teaching. By 2006, other parts of the Creedmoor campus had been sold and the inpatient census was down to 470.[4] There are several disused buildings on the property, including the long-abandoned Building 25
Programs
The hospital’s notable ventures include The Living Museum, which showcases artistic works by patients and is the first museum of its kind in the U.S.[5]
See also
Notes
References
- Creedmoor--official page at the New York State Office of Mental Health
- Creedmoor's Living Museum mission
- Creedmoor's Living Museum documentary
- Creedmoor's Living Museum article
- Creedmoor Psychiatric Center History
- Creedmoor Shooting Range History
- Sheehan, Susan. Is there no place on earth for me? Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982.
- Psychiatric hospitals close in New York State NY Times
State of New York psychiatric hospitals Adult/Children
facilitiesCapital District Psychiatric Center (Albany) · Elmira Psychiatric Center · Greater Binghamton Health Center · Hutchings Psychiatric Center (Syracuse) · Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center (Utica) · Rochester Psychiatric Center · South Beach Psychiatric Center (Staten Island) · St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center (Ogdensburg)Adult
facilitiesBronx Psychiatric Center · Buffalo Psychiatric Center · Creedmoor Psychiatric Center (Queens Village) · Hudson River Psychiatric Center (Poughkeepsie) · Kingsboro Psychiatric Center (Brooklyn) · Manhattan Psychiatric Center · Pilgrim Psychiatric Center (Brentwood) · Rockland Psychiatric Center (Orangeburg) · Washington Heights Community Mental Health Center (Washington Heights)Children's
facilitiesBronx Children's Psychiatric Center · Brooklyn Children's Psychiatric Center · Queens Children's Psychiatric Center (Glen Oaks) · Rockland Children's Psychiatric Center · Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center (Dix Hills) · Western NY Children's Psychiatric Center (West Seneca)Forensic
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facilitiesAsylum on Blackwell's Island (New York City) · Bloomington Lunatic Asylum (Morningside Heights) · Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane (Buffalo) Central Islip Psychiatric Center (Central Islip) · Dannemora State Hospital (Dannemora) Now known as Clinton Correctional Facility · Gowanda State Hospital (Collins) · Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center (Dover Plains) · Hudson River State Hospital (Poughkeepsie) · Kings Park Psychiatric Center (Kings Park) · Letchworth Village Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptics (Thiells) · Long Island Developmental Center (Melville) · Manhattan Children's Psychiatric Center · Matteawan State Hospital (Matteawan) Now known as Fishkill Correctional Facility · Middletown Psychiatric Center (Middletown) · Mohansic State Hospital (Yorktown Heights) · Newville State Hospital (Newville) · New York Asylum for Idiots (Syracuse) · New York State Inebriate Asylum (Binghamton) · Utica State Hospital · (Utica) · Western New York Institution for Deaf-Mutes (Rochester) · Willard State Hospital (Willard) · Willowbrook State School (Staten Island) Institution for children with mental retardationSanatorium Coordinates: 40°44′29″N 73°43′54″W / 40.74139°N 73.73167°W
Categories:- Hospitals in New York City
- Psychiatric hospitals in New York
- Hospitals established in 1912
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