4,537 Comments for Pennhurst State School

i am sickened, but i am not at all suprised by the conditions that these people were subject to

This type of tub is used for people who are nonambulatory, so they can't slip because they can't walk. This helps staff not have to bend over to the ground when placing the person in the tub and taking them out, and is usually used in conjunction with a mechanical lift of some sort. If the person you bathe is nonambulatory and/or you use a lift to get them in the tub, you really want these to be situated higher up to save your aching back (and so they have less far to fall if there is some sort of freak accident and the lift breaks). And it reduces the rate of accidents for the bathers as well because you are less likely to drop the person if you aren't straining your back as much.

See:
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/spd/provtools/dd/safety_design/bath.shtml

As regards the curtains, sometimes the fixtures were situated higher up than you are able to see in this picture (you can't believe how high the ceilings are in most of these places) and sometimes they made use of frosted glass in the outside windows, especially if they were located on a higher floor. People don't frost glass for privacy much these days, but in years past it was a surprisingly common thing for even "normal" people to do, surprising to me because you can see anyone's outline if it is dark outside and light in the room they are in.

That would be an exelent cover for a CD

Lynne is absolutely right, there's nothing vicious about the ball pit - I think its the setting surrounding it that is wrong.

Dear John.....

Walk away from the light.....

Hey, "worked with"...that must have been a wild, depressing ride. What do you do for a living now?

Where's the Phantom of the Opera?

I HATE BASEMENTS

Escherian refers to the optical-illusion drawings done by the famed artist M.C. Escher (1898-1972).
Here's a great link to his biography and some great examples of his artwork.
http://www.mcescher.com/

Derelict Sensation,
You used a $10.00 word that I had to look up in the dictionary and even THEY didn't have it listed!
So now I need to know....... what is Escherian?
huh?

Evrery time I look at this picture, the room looks like its in worse condition! lol

ROFL!

Having inherited letters written by a second cousin who was an "inmate" at Pennhurst , she speaks of
of course, how bad she wants out of this "very bad place ...." Soon after writing that letter, a letter from Edward A Whilton, MD, Unit I Physician was received stating she was taken to Memorial hospital "because of pregnancy." My guess, from other letters she had written, she was raped. How can one be raped if sleeping in dormatory fashion? Her letters were fairly vague, probably because they were monitored before mailing, but one can read between the lines. I believe she was one of the boarderline inmates because she was released onto the streets in 1977. A letter from
C. Duane Youngberg, Superintendent notified her brother of her release. I'm dong ancestry research and any information anyone has on where to obtain inmate records would be much appreciated. Ellen

Ilaynay, please give the perfectly logigal mundane explanation for this photo.
http://www.opacity.us/image2018.htm