pennhurst state school

Pennhurst State School opened in 1908 as an institution for the mentally and physically disabled youths. The property was comprised of 1,400 acres and was one of the largest institutions of its kind in its home state. Pennhurst State School was home to employees ranging from doctors, dentists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, a board of trustees, religious officials, and other types of employees. The school basically functioned as a self-sufficient community as did many other institutions and hospitals of its time. The grounds contained such amenities as a firehouse, a powerplant, a barber shop, a general store, and a greenhouse. Most of Pennhurst’s buildings consisted of storage and dormitory or hospital style buildings. These structures were connected through an extensive underground tunnel system, which allowed for easy transport of the handicapped.

Residents were separated into different dorms according to intelligence level. Some were nearly able to take care of themselves independently. Others lay in a crib all day, barely able to move and roll over. As in many institutions of its day, overcrowding became an issue, and patients were often neglected simply because there was not enough help in the school. Patients learned to do things such as smearing feces on themselves so that an orderly would be forced to clean them and therefore spend time with them and give them attention.

Large amounts of negative attention was called to the campus after the 1968 filming of “suffer the Children” by NBC. In fact, the Hearst School had a long history of accusations about its lack of care to its residents and dehumanization of patients. The institution was accused of sexual abuse, neglect, isolation of patients for long periods of time which would cause their conditions to worse. The State School was finally closed in 1986 due to numerous abuse allegations, the most notorious being one which was the first lawsuit of its kind in the United States which ruled that the mental retarded have rights to living quarters and an education. The institution was accused of provide unsanitary living conditions, placing its residents under cruel and unusual punishment. Sadly, it was eventually concluded after a study by the state that the skills and health of most patients had actually declined after being enrolled in the school.

Today the buildings of the Pennhurst State School are unfortunately a vandalized mess. Windows are shattered, walls are completely covered in spray paint, furniture is strewn about the halls. Some of the grounds of the State School have been converted into a Veterans Hospital, and other areas are often used for disaster training of police dogs.
There is currently a petition circulating on the internet to try and save the administration building at the Pennhurst State School, but it looks to be an uphill battle.

Some information taken from wikipedia.org