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Description

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Arizona State Hospital
Welcomes you
Arizona State Hospital staff is proud of our long tradition of providing effective and caring treatment and rehabilitative services to the most severely mentally ill persons in our state

We are dedicated to remaining an active and vibrant center for treatment provision mental health education and the dissemination of information We are equally dedicated to ensuring that we provide quality services in an accountable manner as evidenced by our Joint Commission Accreditation and our Medicare certification

As the only longterm hospital in Arizona providing services for severely mentally ill persons which is publicly funded we serve as an active and contributing partner in an evolving and maturing statewide system of behavioral healthcare

Mission Statement
To restore and enhance the mental health of persons requiring psychiatric services in a safe and therapeutic environment

Vision Statement
To meet the needs of our patients and other customers in collaboration with our community partners To continue to be a unique and valuable resource in the provision of specialized psychiatric treatment rehabilitation education and research To continuously strive to improve our performance

Proudly committed to serving persons suffering from serious mental disorders

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History

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Arizona State Hospital
History of Arizona State Hospital
Eight years after Arizona became a separate territory from New Mexico the concept that mental illness is a state responsibility was first recognized by the Territorial Legislature On February 17 1871 legislation was enacted which stated that the various Boards of Supervisors of the counties must provide for the confinement of all insane persons quoteither in the County jail or in such other manner and place as shall be in their judgment be best for the safety of said insane person and of the communityquot

In 1885 the 13th Territorial Legislature met to appropriate 100000 for the construction of the quotInsane Asylum of Arizonaquot in Phoenix In addition an Honorary Board of Directors of the Insane Asylum of Arizona was established County bonds were issued for 3500 for 160 acres with water rights 212 miles east of Phoenix Construction began in 1886 to accommodate up to 280 patients taking eight months to complete

The quotInsane Asylum of Arizonaquot opened early in January 1887 for 61 patients with the completion of quotDquot building This was actually 3 buildings with 2 patient wings and a central administrative facility

Under the Boards direction the remaining 160 acres was cleared of brush for grain crops a vegetable garden a vineyard and an orchard with 2000 trees In addition a small area was set aside for a staff and patient cemetery which has 2400 graves dating back to 1888 Among those buried in quotAll Souls Cemeteryquot is Corporal Isaiah Mays a Buffalo Soldier who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor

Under the Boards direction the remaining 160 acres was cleared of brush for grain crops a vegetable garden a vineyard and an orchard with 2000 trees In addition a small area was set aside for a staff and patient cemetery which has 2400 graves dating back to 1888 Among those buried in quotAll Souls Cemeteryquot is Corporal Isaiah Mays a Buffalo Soldier who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor

A Board of Control replaced the Insane Asylum Board in 1895 and was later disassembled in the 1940s to establish policies and procedures regarding declarations of insanity patient confinement and terms of release There was no legal process for confinement and since they were few institutions persons were committed reasons such as old age tuberculosis and quotfeeblemindednessquot

In 1902 the General Assembly of Arizona changed the hospitals name to the quotTerritorial Asylum for the Insanequot By 1909 quotCquot building was under construction and 10 acres had been cleared for farming

After a fire in 1911 the Hospital was rebuilt in 1913 and named the quotState Asylum for the Insanequot when Arizona was voted into statehood Two new buildings were completed the Community Center with kitchen dining room and auditorium and quotCquot building

By 1922 the patient population had climbed to 568 and was still increasing In 1924 the Asylum was informally renamed Arizona State Hospital and the change was made legal in 1958 World War II created major staff shortages along with a sharp increase in patient admittance Census rates rose to 998 in 1942 and then 1200 in 1945

During the 1940s as medications were introduced by pharmaceutical companies the Hospital played a leading role in trying new medications to help its clients A social worker was hired during this time exclusively to discharge patients

By the early 1950s the patient population was close to 1800 Increases were attributed to state population influx the admission of Japanese patients from war relocation centers and war casualties During this period new patients were required to appear before an insanity board and few were declared quotinsanequot

In 1970 during the height of the human rights movement the Arizona Legislature passed Senate Bill 1057 ARS sect 3655 which required that a patient must be dangerous to themselves or others in order to be confined to the hospital Restrictions were such that made it impossible to get in and easy to be released Many patients who had been at the hospital for years were released in downtown Phoenix and the patient census dropped from almost 2000 to 300 within a few months

In 1973 Governor Williams and the Arizona Legislature created the Arizona Department of Health Services Within this department fell the Division of Behavioral Health Services to oversee mental health services for the State Department of Health and Arizona State Hospital

In the 1980s ADHS and ASH were sued in court case Arnold v Sarn The decision passed in 1989 which stated that quotArizona has failed to meet its moral and legal obligations to our states chronically mentally ill populationquot The decision required a push toward communitybased programs and services for discharged patients

During the 1990s concern about mental health became a federal issue generating reports from the Surgeon Generals office and from highranking advocates The Arizona State Hospital adopted Psychiatric Rehabilitation a new model of patient care that encompassed all disciplines