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In 1877 the General Assembly established the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane and empowered the Governor to appoint a seven-member commission to select a site within northeastern Illinois on which to locate the institution. After selection of a site in Kankakee, three trustees were appointed by the Governor to supervise planning and construction, choose a superintendent, and operate the hospital, subject to inspection by the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities (L. 1877, p. 21).
The hospital opened on September 4, 1879 and began to operate a training school for nurses in 1886. The board of trustees and the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities were abolished in 1909 when control of all state charitable institutions passed to the newly created Board of Administration. As part of this reorganization the institution became Kankakee State Hospital (L. 1909, p. 102).
In 1917 the Department of Public Welfare assumed responsibility for Kankakee State Hospital and retained control until the creation of the Department of Mental Health in 1961 (L. 1961, p. 2666). In 1975 the institution became a center for the care and treatment of the developmentally disabled only. All other patients were transferred to other mental health facilities and the institution became Kankakee Mental Health Center (P.A. 79-581, p. 1895).
Access to some these records is restricted according to the provisions of the Mental Health Code and the State Records Act of 1957 as amended.
258.001
SCHOOL OF NURSING STUDENT FILES. 1880-1940. 1 cu. ft. Index.
File for each nursing student variously includes application for admission, medical record, transcript of courses and grades, educational statement, evaluation sheets, summary card, and record of affiliation with other nursing schools. Admission application and other forms provide such information as student's name, address, age, sex, race, nationality, birthplace, birth date, marital status, number of children, religion, height, weight, and general physical condition; names of schools attended and degrees earned; dates entered and completed nursing program; and date diploma granted.
258.002
PATHOLOGICAL REPORTS. May 1, 1893-July 1, 1895. 1 vol. Index.
Autopsy reports on 192 patients are arranged by the type of diagnosed mental condition (e.g., senile dementia, chronic mania, organic brain disease). Reports include the patient's admission number, age, and sex, cause of death, and comments regarding the conditions of vital organs. Occasionally provided are the duration of the mental condition, the length of institutionalization, and comments on the patient's behavior. Also included are summaries of autopsy observations, photographs and drawings of the brain and other vital organs, and closing remarks of the staff pathologist concerning overall observations.
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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