Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Centeris a maximum-security facility for the mentally ill onWards IslandinNew York City,[1]operated by theNew York State Office of Mental Healthas one of two psychiatric hospitals in the state that treat felony patients.[2]The building, described as "fortresslike", is adjacent to theManhattan Psychiatric Center.[3]Of its more than 200 patients, 50 are deemedcriminally insane;it houses pre-trial detainees unfit to stand trial as well as convicted defendants granted an insanity plea. Among its famous historical inmates was murderer and cannibalDaniel Rakowitz.[3]
| Kirby Forensic Psychiatry Center | |
|---|---|
| New York State Office of Mental Health | |
 TheWards Islandpsychiatric complex. Kirby occupies one of the three buildings. | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | New York City,New York,United States |
| Organization | |
| Funding | Public hospital |
| Type | Specialist |
| Services | |
| Beds | >200 |
| Speciality | Psychiatric hospital |
| Links | |
| Website | omh |
| Lists | Hospitals in New York State |
History
editThe Manhattan State Hospital was founded onWards Islandin 1899 as the largest psychiatric institution in the world. By the 1960s the number of patients had declined, and in December 1969 the hospital was divided into three centers, one of which was the Kirby Manhattan Psychiatric Center. In 1979 they were re-consolidated into theManhattan Psychiatric Center.In 1981, the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center was split off from the center as a specialized facility for treating patients from the criminal justice system,[4]occupying a 12-story building in the Wards Island complex.[5]
As of 2019, the state was planning to close the facility and move its patients to the nearby Manhattan Psychiatric Center. The planned move was opposed by the clinicians' union and some of the facility's guards, as the Manhattan Psychiatric Center was not designed to house dangerous patients.[3]Employees described the facility as a dangerous place to work;[3]in a two-year period before 2014, there were 433 assaults by patients.[6]In April 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic,the hospital took in extra admissions to help the city's overburdened regular hospital system.[7]State-run psychiatric hospitals were among the hardest-hit institutions in the early phase of the pandemic.[8]
References
edit- ^"Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center".New York State Office of Mental Health.Archivedfrom the original on 6 February 2022.Retrieved27 February2022.
- ^Hattem, Ben (27 July 2015)."How New York's mentally ill get lost in courts, jails and hospitals".Al Jazeera America.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2022.Retrieved27 February2022.
- ^abcdCorreal, Annie (13 December 2019)."Why Workers Fear Moving 50 Criminally Insane Patients".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2022.Retrieved27 February2022.
- ^Jackson, Kenneth T.,ed. (2010).The Encyclopedia of New York City(2nd ed.). New Haven:Yale University Press.p. 793.ISBN978-0-300-11465-2.
- ^Smothers, Ronald (17 February 1982)."The Death of a Psychiatric Patient: The Gray Area of Restraint".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2022.Retrieved4 March2022.
- ^Seagar, Stephen (10 November 2014)."Where Hell Is Other Patients".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2022.Retrieved27 February2022.
- ^Geringer-Sameth, Ethan (5 May 2021)."During Pandemic Peak, Psychiatric Patients Were Rushed Into Institutions".Gotham Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2022.Retrieved27 February2022.
- ^Geringer-Sameth, Ethan (17 April 2020)."10 Dead, Hundreds Infected as State Psychiatric Facilities Become Another Crisis Point in Coronavirus Outbreak".Gotham Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2022.Retrieved27 February2022.
Further reading
edit- Sternberg, Richard R. (2020).By Reason of Insanity.IPBooks.ISBN978-1-94-909359-9.