The Lunatic Asylum
Superintendent Worsham's annual report on the state's lunatic asylum details patient numbers, discharge and death rates, and warns that severe overcrowding is forcing the state to turn away hundreds of chronic cases.
NewsPipe summary
The Austin Weekly Statesman · December 24, 1896 · Page 6
1 min readIn his report of the lunatic asylum in this city Superintendent Worsham states:
"There are now 606 patients being treated and cared for by the institution; 314 males and 302 females. Among this number, the two races are represented by 581 white and 105 colored patients. There have been admitted during the year 121 patients; of this number, 109 were white and 12 were colored. There have been discharged 52; died, 24, making the daily average 607. Of the number discharged, 45 were discharged restored, [...] were discharged improved and 3 were discharged unimproved. The per cent of recovery of all treated is 0.73. The per cent of deaths of all the number treated is 3.10. The per cent of those recovered who were admitted during the year is 29.75.
"During the year 275 applications were made and only 121 have been admitted."
On this hypothesis he bases the estimate of support and maintenance as follows, saying:
"I have shown the number of applications made and the number refused admission during the year in order to prove conclusively the imperative necessity of providing more room for the insane.
"Every patient has been cared for that the three different asylums could possibly accommodate, and still there are hundreds of cases which have been denied admission on account of not sufficient room. The law forces us to discriminate, where there are more applications made for admission than can be accommodated, in favor of cases under one year's duration, and as a result the chronic cases of the insane have been absolutely denied protection by the state. [...]"
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