Norfolk Regional Center
Encyclopedia
The Norfolk Regional Center is a psychiatric hospital
located in Norfolk, Nebraska
. It is one of three regional centers operated by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
The Norfolk center commenced operations in 1888 as the State Hospital for the Insane. At its peak, it housed over 1300 patients. It currently functions as a 120-bed facility for the initial treatment of sex offenders
.
created the Nebraska Asylum for the Insane in the capital city of Lincoln
. The state's increasing population led to overcrowding at the Lincoln hospital; in 1885, the Legislature appropriated $75,000 to build a second facility in the Norfolk area, subject to the city's donating 320 acres (129.5 ha) of good land. The first building was completed in 1886,
and the hospital opened in 1888 with 97 patients, as the State Hospital for the Insane.
For many years, the hospital was a self-sufficient community, with a complete farm operation. Inmates were responsible for most of the work on the farm and in the dairy, in addition to doing custodial work in the buildings.
Although there were cases of genuine serious mental illness among the patients, many would not be considered mentally ill or in need of institutionalization today. In the 19th century, patients were admitted for such reasons as "domestic trouble, disappointment in love, financial trouble, hepatic dullness, heredity, , intemperance, overwork, overstudy, religious excitement, sun stroke, and others." One young girl had been admitted to the asylum because of homesickness.
By 1898, expansions of the facility had brought its capacity up to 300 patients. In 1901, a fire destroyed all but one building. Only one patient died, when he ran back into a burning building; the progress of the fire was slow enough to allow much of the furniture and personal property to be saved. The patients were moved to the mental institutions in Lincoln and in Hastings
; the latter had been opened in 1889.
In 1905, the facility was re-opened, with three ward cottages and an administration building. More buildings were constructed as the patient population increased. At its peak, the facility housed more than 1300 patients. There was a prize-winning dairy herd, and patients and staff butchered their own meat, preserved vegetables, and produced their own clothing and power.
The facility's name was changed to the Norfolk State Hospital in 1920. Up to this time, patient care had been almost entirely custodial; in the 1920s, the first attempts at treatment of mental illness were made. These included recreational and occupational therapy
—the hospital had a chorus and orchestra, and held plays and dances—but also electroconvulsive therapy
, and later insulin shock therapy
, hydrotherapy
, and fever therapy.
In 1962, the name of the facility was changed to the current Norfolk Regional Center. In the following year, the Nebraska Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, later renamed the Norfolk Veterans' Home, was established on the center's campus. It remained there until 2001, when it was moved to a new site elsewhere in Norfolk.
Following the passage of mental-health-care legislation in 2004, increasing numbers of patients were moved from the state regional centers to community-based treatment programs
. A 2005 study commissioned by the Nebraska Legislature urged the conversion of the center to a treatment center for prison inmates who used methamphetamine
. However, by 2006, there were only 100 beds remaining at the center, and its future was in doubt.
In that same year, however, the Legislature passed a measure broadening the definition of a sex offender, and adding new requirements for post-prison treatment. The Regional Center was converted to a center for such treatment. In mid-2006, it discharged its final mental-health patient and devoted itself exclusively to sex offenders.
Patients include about 50 level-three offenders, who are considered at high risk of re-offending. All patients are confined to the facility, which has high-security correctional fences and locking doors with badge readers and security codes. Patients are also monitored constantly, both to ensure compliance with treatment and to prevent escapes. The center's recent recidivism
rate is 13.7%.
With the decrease in the patient load, many of the facility's buildings were no longer needed. Some of these have been demolished, while others will be torn down when funds are available. Still other buildings are currently being used by Northeast Community College
, which is adjacent to the Regional Center.
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
located in Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the...
. It is one of three regional centers operated by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
The Norfolk center commenced operations in 1888 as the State Hospital for the Insane. At its peak, it housed over 1300 patients. It currently functions as a 120-bed facility for the initial treatment of sex offenders
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
.
History
In 1870, the Nebraska LegislatureNebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County....
created the Nebraska Asylum for the Insane in the capital city of Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. The state's increasing population led to overcrowding at the Lincoln hospital; in 1885, the Legislature appropriated $75,000 to build a second facility in the Norfolk area, subject to the city's donating 320 acres (129.5 ha) of good land. The first building was completed in 1886,
and the hospital opened in 1888 with 97 patients, as the State Hospital for the Insane.
For many years, the hospital was a self-sufficient community, with a complete farm operation. Inmates were responsible for most of the work on the farm and in the dairy, in addition to doing custodial work in the buildings.
Although there were cases of genuine serious mental illness among the patients, many would not be considered mentally ill or in need of institutionalization today. In the 19th century, patients were admitted for such reasons as "domestic trouble, disappointment in love, financial trouble, hepatic dullness, heredity, , intemperance, overwork, overstudy, religious excitement, sun stroke, and others." One young girl had been admitted to the asylum because of homesickness.
By 1898, expansions of the facility had brought its capacity up to 300 patients. In 1901, a fire destroyed all but one building. Only one patient died, when he ran back into a burning building; the progress of the fire was slow enough to allow much of the furniture and personal property to be saved. The patients were moved to the mental institutions in Lincoln and in Hastings
Hastings, Nebraska
Hastings is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, United States. It is the principal city of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Adams and Clay counties. The population was 24,907 at the 2010 census...
; the latter had been opened in 1889.
In 1905, the facility was re-opened, with three ward cottages and an administration building. More buildings were constructed as the patient population increased. At its peak, the facility housed more than 1300 patients. There was a prize-winning dairy herd, and patients and staff butchered their own meat, preserved vegetables, and produced their own clothing and power.
The facility's name was changed to the Norfolk State Hospital in 1920. Up to this time, patient care had been almost entirely custodial; in the 1920s, the first attempts at treatment of mental illness were made. These included recreational and occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
—the hospital had a chorus and orchestra, and held plays and dances—but also electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
, and later insulin shock therapy
Insulin shock therapy
Insulin shock therapy or insulin coma therapy was a form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks...
, hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
, and fever therapy.
Deinstitutionalization and new focus
The development of psychiatric drugs beginning in the early 1950s offered the prospect of rehabilitating many patients. As progress was made in the treatment of mental illness, the hospital's population declined.In 1962, the name of the facility was changed to the current Norfolk Regional Center. In the following year, the Nebraska Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, later renamed the Norfolk Veterans' Home, was established on the center's campus. It remained there until 2001, when it was moved to a new site elsewhere in Norfolk.
Following the passage of mental-health-care legislation in 2004, increasing numbers of patients were moved from the state regional centers to community-based treatment programs
Community mental health service
Community mental health services , also known as Community Mental Health Teams in the United Kingdom, support or treat people with mental disorders in a domiciliary setting, instead of a psychiatric hospital . The array of community mental health services vary depending on the country in which...
. A 2005 study commissioned by the Nebraska Legislature urged the conversion of the center to a treatment center for prison inmates who used methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
. However, by 2006, there were only 100 beds remaining at the center, and its future was in doubt.
In that same year, however, the Legislature passed a measure broadening the definition of a sex offender, and adding new requirements for post-prison treatment. The Regional Center was converted to a center for such treatment. In mid-2006, it discharged its final mental-health patient and devoted itself exclusively to sex offenders.
Current status
At present, the Norfolk Regional Center is a 120-bed facility providing Phase I services in the Nebraska Sex Offender Treatment Program. In the three-phase program, Phase I "orients patients to the treatment process; begins working with patients to accept full responsibility for their sex offending and sexually deviant behaviors; teaches patients to give and receive feedback and utilize coping skills; and builds motivation for the intensive treatment in Phases II and III which are provided at Lincoln Regional Center."Patients include about 50 level-three offenders, who are considered at high risk of re-offending. All patients are confined to the facility, which has high-security correctional fences and locking doors with badge readers and security codes. Patients are also monitored constantly, both to ensure compliance with treatment and to prevent escapes. The center's recent recidivism
Recidivism
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...
rate is 13.7%.
With the decrease in the patient load, many of the facility's buildings were no longer needed. Some of these have been demolished, while others will be torn down when funds are available. Still other buildings are currently being used by Northeast Community College
Northeast Community College
Northeast Community College is a community college system located in Northeast Nebraska.Established by the state legislature in 1973 as a comprehensive community college offering vocational/technical, liberal arts, college transfer, and continuing education, Northeast Community College is a...
, which is adjacent to the Regional Center.
External links
- Video of interior of old building before demolition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGAXgbhE2R4&feature=related
- Video of interior of old building before demolition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo8LL6yXDyI&feature=related
- Video of interior of old building before demolition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZlgZRBsBY8&feature=related