Personal Accounts
Riah Fagan Cox
Cox was a patient of Central State Hospital in the 1940s and 50s. In her memoir I Remember Jones, she recounts her days at Central State and her treatment by her nurse, Jones. Lines from the memoir reveal the poor treatment of patients at the institution.
On her treatment:
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“Then I noticed the expression in her eyes, —it was the extreme distaste with which one views a thoroughly repulsive object."
"For I was strapped down, in a narrow, hard bed in an ugly room with barred windows. The several weeks that it took for me to learn to walk again were 'hard times,' for Jones seemed devoted to making me miserable and the slightest provocation was enough to bring quick and unduly severe punishment, or so it seemed then. “
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“Then later in the morning came electric shock treatments, in the big room at the end of the corridor. I had graduated from that torture, but dreaded to see others trying to hide to avoid it.”
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Cox called Jones the most outstanding and qualified sadist of all time in a letter.
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On her routine:
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“At dusk Goldie, a beautifully built Amazon of a woman, always came in to move my furniture out into the hall.” [This was to help prevent suicide by the patients]
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“I was punished by having my room declared out of bounds to all patients. No one dared speak to me and I knew how dull social ostracism could be.”
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"Considering that the trays always held the same thing—bacon gravy, charred toast and oatmeal, I often wondered why they hurried so to get them.”
All information about Riah Fagan Cox was obtained through her memoir. (4)
Albert Thayer
Albert Thayer was a civil war veteran and patient of Central State Hospital. He exposes the malpractices in Central State Hospital in his publication, "Indiana Crazy House," where he blames a lack of funding as the primary reason for the issues.
“Attendants were known to hit patients, lock them in closets, and restrain them in bed for long periods of time. Many would punish patients if they spoke to one another, silencing them for hours on end.” (2)
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Albert Thayer recounts stories of a pregnant patient forced to mop the floor while in labor. She gave birth while mopping. (3)
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“An unruly patient received a syringe of aqua ammonia in the eyes. One eye was destroyed, and the other nearly so.” (3)
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One patient began beating himself, was put in a straight jacket, and pummeled by the staff. They said he was dangerous, but Thayer never saw him hurt anyone but himself during his psychotic episodes. (3)
Funding Problems
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Much of the patient works was still done by medical attendants
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Low wages and long hours led to the abuse
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Understaffing and poor training were other causes of abuse
Staff Accounts
“Staff lived and breathed in the hospital, with only an afternoon or a whole day off every week or sometimes every two weeks if they were lucky.” (3) Past employees of Central State recount their time spent there:
On hydrotherapy:
“It consisted of a tub with ice in it. The patient’s clothes were removed, and she was put into the ice bath.”
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“She screamed and screamed and screamed the whole time she was in there.”
- Tonya Hicks, an attendant during the 60’s
On carelessness:
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“After arriving I found out a patient died of hypothermia because the restrictions were too lax on repairing a window.”
-Carlos Estevez, a former musical therapy intern
Staff Accounts are all from Novel Intentions. (3)
Volunteer Account
Brenda Melton, a long time Licensed Clinical Social Worker recalls her time volunteering at Central State Hospital. She describes the experience as traumatic.
Makayla Melton. (2019, May 1). Brenda Melton; Central State Hospital Volunteer Experience. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/HrKpxS8dY84