A State Hospital of Changes
In 1940, Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded changed its name to the Lynchburg State Colony. Beginning in the early to mid-1950s, the United States began to focus on development and training programs for mental hospitals, such as the Lynchburg State Colony. Because of the mandatory training for the Lynchburg State Colony, the facility decided to change its name once again to match its mission and the type of hospital it was. Therefore, in 1954, the Lynchburg State Colony became known as the Lynchburg Training School and Hospital.
Over the course of the 1950s, the Lynchburg Training School and Hospital decided to go above and beyond the mandatory state laws on training and started to increase staffing and staff skills. Therefore, by 1955, about two-thirds of the residents of the hospital were being cared for by about 55 staff members who had adequate training and skills. On top of that, all of the 55 staff members had received a certificate of proficiency for their training in patient care.
Along with the changes inside the hospital, changes were also happening outside of the hospital. Since the beginning, the facility had operated a farm for some income to help sustain themselves. Before and during the 1950s, this farm continued to grow. The facility grew soybeans and vegetables. Furthermore, they had dairy cows and pigs. However, near the end of the 1950s, the farm was not making a profit as it had in the past. Therefore, the cow barn was torn down, and the dairy barn was changed into temporary housing. A decade later, the only remains of the farm was a greenhouse.
Seven Divisions
The 1970s brought further changes to the facility when they decided to organize the training center and hospital into seven different areas. The first area became known as pediatrics. Independent living was a second area added to the hospital for the patients who did not need as much care as others. The third area became known as the severely retarded and infirm. Intensive social rehabilitation became known as the fourth area. The fifth area added was known as psychiatry with the sixth area called ambulatory. The final area of the hospital became the medical and surgical area and just called the hospital.
Even with some bed additions, adequate training, and other changes, the facility continued to face overcrowding problems well into the 1970s. In fact, they did not see a drastic change with overcrowding until Virginia added three new hospitals in the late 1970s. In 1983, the Lynchburg Training School and Hospital decided to make one final name change when the facility became known as Central Virginia Training Center. A year later, the resident population was down to 1,724, which is the lowest population the facility had seen in decades. Today, the Central Virginia Training Center is home to around 300 patients and still considered one of Virginia’s most extensive facilities.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“High School Bioethics Curriculum Project: Chapter 2 Carrie Buck & The Lynchburg State Colony.” Kennedy Institute of Ethics.
“Over 7,500 Sterilized by Virginia.” S ra G. Boodman, Glenn Frankel, and Robert Meyers, Washington Post. February 1980.