Bryce Hospital Day

WHEREAS, the concept of a hospital for persons with mental illnesses was the dream of Dorthea Lynde Dix and Governor Henry Collier; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Thomas Kirkbride was commissioned to design the hospital and utilize an innovative architectural concept to fully implement the concept of moral treatment for persons with mental illnesses; and

WHEREAS, the hospital emerged as the signature Kirkbride/Sloan architectural design, which became known as the Alabama Plan, and was used by Kirkbride as a prototype in the design of numerous psychiatric facilities for the next 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Peter Bryce, champion of the moral treatment movement, was named the first superintendent of the hospital and was serving in that capacity when the first patient was admitted on April 5, 1861; and

WHEREAS, in 1884, the hospital was recognized as one of five hospitals in the United States that did not use restraint as a treatment; and

WHEREAS, the first four superintendents of the hospital, Dr. Peter Bryce, Dr. J.T. Searcy, Dr. W.D. Partlow and Dr. J.S. Tarwater, organized the hospital, its utilities and agriculture so that it could remain self-sufficient and provide services to persons with mental illnesses through the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, the Great Depression and World War II; and

WHEREAS, Bryce Hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and once was noted as the longest roofline in the world; and

WHEREAS, Bryce Hospital became the focus of the Wyatt v. Stickney court case, which was the legal basis for the civil rights movement for persons with mental illnesses, and provided such standards of care as the right to treatment and least restrictive environment; and

WHEREAS, the 2011 observance of National Mental Illness Awareness Week will be celebrated October 2 through October 8; and

WHEREAS, because of Bryce Hospital’s significant contributions to the treatment of mental illnesses in the state, it is appropriate to recognize those contributions during National Mental Illness Awareness Week:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim October 2, 2011, as

Bryce Hospital Day

in the State of the Alabama to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Alabama’s oldest and largest inpatient psychiatric facility, an integral piece of Alabama history.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 18th day of October 2011.

                                                                                 ___Governor Robert Bentley