50th Anniversary of the Department of Mental Health

Proclamation
By the Governor of Alabama

WHEREAS, the need for a state psychiatric facility in Alabama was recognized, and legislation was passed in 1852 to establish what is presently known as Bryce Hospital; and

WHEREAS, in 1900, legislation was passed to establish a second facility to serve more Alabamians. Utilizing the Mount Vernon Arsenal land deeded by the federal government to the State of Alabama for public use purposes, this second psychiatric facility became known as Searcy Hospital; and

WHEREAS, in 1919, legislation was passed to establish a facility to care for individuals with mental retardation. The facility was named W.D. Partlow Developmental Center; and

WHEREAS, in 1965, the Alabama Department of Mental Health was created to coordinate mental health care services statewide; and

WHEREAS, in 1967, a statewide network of community care was needed and the Alabama Legislature passed legislation to enable local governments to form public corporations to provide mental health services in the community; and

WHEREAS, the lack of minimal standards of care, in addition to the rising demand for services, eventually reached a crisis point in the department. The hospitals and residential facilities were overcrowded, short staffed and under-funded. In 1970 the lawsuit, Wyatt v. Stickney, was filed in federal court and became the catalyst for change in the delivery of mental health services in Alabama and across the nation; and

WHEREAS, the Wyatt case concluded and 33 years of federal oversight ended in 2003. Key changes with the end of the Wyatt case included: 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; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Mental Health in Alabama is an example, known throughout the United States, for treating individuals with mental illnesses with dignity and respect, as envisioned by Dr. Peter Bryce, Alabama’s first psychiatrist to work at Bryce Hospital; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Mental Health embraces community living for as many as possible through the expansion of services and funding to its statewide network of service providers and the deinstitutionalization of all individuals with intellectual disabilities:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim October 2015, as the

50th Anniversary of the Department of Mental Health

in the State of Alabama.

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 1st day of October 2015.

Robert Bentley
Governor