| Historic Bryce Hospital Fact Sheet |
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PDF 1.3 MB | Hospital Description | History | Fact
Sheet Summary | Get involved! |
Description of Historic Bryce Hospital
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Bryce Hospital has been in continuous operation since 1861. Designed
in the Italianate style, the four-story building features an imposing
white dome that has been a landmark on the eastern skyline of Tuscaloosa
for almost 150 years. Over the decades, the original six wings were
extended to accommodate a patient population that grew from the initial
250 to over 5,000 individuals. Due to the federal lawsuit, Wyatt v.
Stickney, the hospital became the focal point in the U.S. for the civil
rights movement for people experiencing mental illness. The lawsuit,
filed in 1971, kept Alabama’s mental health system under federal court
control for over 33 years and virtually changed the landscape of mental
health care across the nation by establishing patient rights to minimum
standards of care. This fact sheet provides an overview of the history
of Bryce Hospital and its historical significance to the state and the
nation.
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History of Bryce Hospital + the Evolution of the Mental Health System in Alabama
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- In the early decades of the 19th century, there was virtually no mental health
care system in the U.S. In response, Dorothea Dix, a national advocate for appropriate
mental health treatment, traveled across the country pleading for the care of people
who experienced mental illness.
- Miss Dix, along with Alabama Governor Henry W. Collier and Senator Robert Jemison,
Jr., lobbied for the establishment of a state psychiatric hospital in 1849-50. An act
passed in 1852 appropriated $100,000 for the construction of the “Alabama Insane Hospital”
(which was later renamed for Dr. Peter Bryce, the first superintendent) on 326 acres in
Tuscaloosa. The hospital admitted its first patient in 1861.
- The Sloan/Kirkbride plan had a central administrative building with three staggered
patient wings segregated by gender on each side. Many institutions across the country
followed this pattern, but Dr. Kirkbride considered the “Alabama Insane Hospital” to be
the finest example of this concept. Later wings (not a part of the Kirkbride plan) have
been removed, but the original 1861 building still stands and is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places because of its national significance.
- Upon the recommendation of Miss Dix and Dr. Kirkbride, Dr. Peter Bryce was appointed
the first superintendent of the hospital. He and his wife, Ellen Clarkson Bryce, became
cornerstones of Tuscaloosa society and tenacious advocates for people who experience mental
illness.
- Dr. Bryce put in place the latest methods of therapy fostered by the “moral treatment
movement.” Early intervention, treatment without the use of restraints, and social support
were hallmarks of this methodology. After his death in 1892, the hospital was renamed for
Dr. Bryce. He and Mrs. Bryce are buried on the hospital grounds near the grand approach to
the institution they served with great devotion.
- Dr. James Thomas Searcy succeeded Dr. Bryce and served as superintendent from 1892 until
1919. He initiated reforms in treatment and medical records. He also established a second
hospital in Mount Vernon, Alabama, which was named for him following his death. Searcy
Hospital has its own rich history and is still in operation.
- Dr. W. D. Partlow served as superintendent from 1919 to 1950. During his tenure, a new
residential facility was opened in 1923 for people with intellectual disabilities (ID).
Shortly thereafter, the legislature passed an act naming the facility for Dr. Partlow. The
W. D. Partlow Developmental Center is the only remaining residential facility in the state
for persons with ID. More than 99 percent of individuals with ID are now served in the
community.
- When Dr. J. S. Tarwater became superintendent of Bryce Hospital in 1950, the state mental
health system was grossly under-funded. The hospital continued to augment deficient budget
allocations from the legislature with the sale of its farm products. During Dr. Tarwater’s
tenure, psychological and social service departments were established to assist with the care
and discharge of patients into a slowly evolving community care network.
- In 1965, the Alabama Legislature passed Act No. 881 creating the Alabama Department of
Mental Health. A subsequent bill added the words “and Mental Retardation” to the department’s
name. Before Act No. 881, services were provided under the general umbrella of the Alabama
Department of Public Health. Over the next six years, the state made steady improvements
with the emergence of several community mental health programs. Progress, however, was
woefully inadequate to meet the growing demand.
- The lack of minimal standards of care, in addition to the rising demand for services,
reached a crisis point in 1971. At that time, the hospitals and residential facilities were
overcrowded, short staffed, and under-funded. Bryce Hospital, for example, had over 5,000
patients with only three psychiatrists. The lawsuit, Wyatt v. Stickney, was filed in federal
court and became the catalyst for change across the nation.
- Through rulings associated with the Wyatt case, Judge Frank Johnson, Jr. and later Judge
Myron Thompson, Jr. mandated minimum standards of care, established basic patient rights,
encouraged the development of the community mental health system as an alternative to
institutionalization, and reduced the patient population in the facilities. The
Wyatt v. Stickney case was terminated in December 2003. The community mental health
system now serves more than 98 percent of individuals in the state who experience mental illness, and
state hospital facilities have been downsized to serve a daily population of hundreds rather
than thousands.
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Summary
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Bryce Hospital has a rich history that encapsulates the architectural
evolution of mental health in the United States and the beginnings of
the civil rights movement for people who experience mental illness.
Because of its rich history, the exterior facade of the original Kirkbride
building, along with the grand approach from Campus Drive, should be
preserved. If the walls of Bryce Hospital could talk, one would hear
of the difficulties of experiencing mental illness, the advantages of
recovery, and the compassion of clinicians and staff. Additionally,
one would hear the ongoing discussions by leaders who sought to offer
the best care, given the resources at the time. Completed in 1861,
having endured both the Civil War and the burning of the adjacent
University of Alabama by federal troops in 1865, Bryce Hospital is a
symbol of resilience and reform. As a contemporary of the Alabama
State Capitol in Montgomery, Bryce is an irreplaceable historical
treasure for future generations.
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Get involved!
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The Bryce Hospital Historical Committee is working with the Alabama
Department of Mental Health to preserve the historic
Kirkbride building, along with the Bryce Hospital cemeteries, where thousands
of former patients are buried. The committee is also exploring the possibility
of establishing a national mental health museum in a portion of the historic
building. For more information, contact the Public Information Office of the
Alabama Department of Mental Health at (334) 242-3417,
or email the department Historian, Steve Davis, at steve.davis@bryce.mh.alabama.gov.
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