2,712 Comments for Fuller State School and Hospital

Tanya, I would guess 14 years since it closed...

Aliester, thanks! I have quite a few photos to go through, and one basement room of a state hospital disturbed me greatly, perhaps one of those photos would be the most unnerving to me. I think the child's wheelchair in the playroom at Pennhurst would be the saddest to me: http://www.opacity.us/image2236.htm

Yes, it's a friend.

Lynne,
I agree with you wholeheartedly there... before my father passed away, while he was in the hospital, they had his hands tied with a posey. He fought so hard for so long to get his hands free, I believe he used his strength up and had no fight left for fighting for his life. It was very sad and difficult to watch.

We will just have to look for Moe and Curley, I'm sure Larry isnt too far behind........

~Me!!!!!! lol, yes she did!!!

No.....She DIDN'T!

Did you see my comment above? I'd NEVER tell you to hush up.

Maybe quest is on a close personal basis with Sir Laurence Olivier and just calls him "Larry"? And don't TELL me he's dead, as everyone but me seems to be on a first name basis with ghosts here.

Well, that's MY best guess . . . I can't find Larry nowheres neither, silk . . . :-(

Hey! Mebbe he said something dirty and Motts erased his message! Of course, that would be AFTER he washed his mouth out with soap from one of them there fancy sink light/soap dispensers . . . .

Who's Larry?

Quest - thanks. However, I am waiting for poor Motts to tell me to shut up at some point. :-)

~Me - I know you have just been waiting for this opportunity, so take it! ;-)

Yes, infants as young as several days old were placed in institutional facilities back in the days when families were told it was best for them never to see their child. I work with a number of folks who were placed in an institution at under 6 months of age, and several who were less than a month of age at the time of placement. In fact, many places used to have entire buildings of nothing but children and infants even as recently as the 1970s.

Luckily, that does not happen anymore because the states are more responsible about helping families of children with multiple needs stay at home now. That is a VERY recent change in the field and is still a problem in many places with very long waiting lists for families to receive services. For years families were told they would not receive any funding or assistance for their children unless they gave up their rights to them and had them placed, and to keep a child at home with multiple physical disabilities is not only expensive but it is very draining, because you have to have someone right there 24/7. Most institutions now try not to take anyone under 21 if at all possible, and in many states a person cannot be admitted until they are 21+.

I still talk with families who are wracked with guilt years later for having been pressured into placing their child at such a young age. However, I also talk with families who are thrilled that their loved ones were placed in an institutional setting, and are happy with their care, and who would have it no other way. It obviously depends on the era in which you were raised, what resources were available when your loved one was young, and how the institutional experience has been for you and your family. Every time an institution is scheduled to shut, even if there have been horrible abuses documented, the families have generally been the strongest supporters of the institution, either because their specific loved one received excellent care there or because they have seen that similar horrors can also happen in the community.

One thing to say about institutions, especially these days - on every shift every day each client gets a good going over from head to toe by the oncoming shift, and any scratches, bruises, or tiny dings are immediately reported and investigated. This means that at least three times a day each person is looked at and assessed physically, often by multiple staff. It is very difficult these days for abuse to slide by without being reported and/or investigated, because anyone who knows that an injury occurred (whether through abuse or not) and didn't report it can be terminated for neglect. And there are people whose entire job is to analyze the pattern of injuries that occur and investigate any irregularities. As well, there are numerous external agencies who monitor the reports and there are advocates who go through the areas and read all the medical reports every day.

As much as I prefer the overall freedom of community living, I have to admit that they do not have this degree of oversight out there and unless there is a very involved case manager, family, or agency, much can occur that no one knows about because they don't have the same number of eyes looking things over.

As I have said repeatedly, as much as I adore working with this specific population, it can be a very challenging and frustrating group to work with, and since they cannot report if someone hurts them, you have to take an awful lot on faith, much more than I would personally like to take. :-(

It is her calling in life.


and yes it is much appreciated.

...it's Fairfield Hills, in CT

Scott:
this is one of two photos Iv'e seen of drills . Until your comment, I didn't know what it was ( I'm not sure where the othe photo is.
http://www.newenglandruins.com/

Max , Silkster40z & Larry Olivier,
Well larry, I don't need to tell...Think of how important dental hygiene is anywhere and especially someplace where care for personal appearance has deteriorated (no pun) individually. Part of the beauty of these places were their self-sufficiency. They were communities unto themselves ( out of ability to be and necessity)
Plus, I get the feeling no one wanted to haul those chairs out.

Also the mesh (lordy, I actually typed in "mess" instead of "mesh"-was that a slip!) is washable. Any dirtied linens used under the body could be disposed of...nothing stainable....