Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, or Pilgrim State Hospital, is a state-run psychiatric hospital located in Brentwood, New York.
At the time it was opened, it was the largest hospital of any type in the world - its size has never been exceeded by any other facility- although Pilgrim is today far smaller than it used to be.
By 1900, overcrowding in city asylums was becoming a major problem that many tried to resolve. One answer was to put the mentally i...
more
Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, or Pilgrim State Hospital, is a state-run psychiatric hospital located in Brentwood, New York.
At the time it was opened, it was the largest hospital of any type in the world - its size has never been exceeded by any other facility- although Pilgrim is today far smaller than it used to be.
By 1900, overcrowding in city asylums was becoming a major problem that many tried to resolve. One answer was to put the mentally ill to work farming in a relaxing setting on what was then rural Long Island. The new state hospitals were dubbed "Farm Colonies" because of their live-and-work treatment programs, agricultural focus and patient facilities. However, these farm colonies, the Kings Park State Hospital (later known as the Kings Park Psychiatric Center) and the Central Islip State Hospital (later known as the Central Islip Psychiatric Center), quickly became overcrowded, just like the earlier institutions they were supposed to replace.
NY state responded by making...
less
