Kirkbride Buildings - Historic Insane Asylums Forum

As I mentioned in this blog post: Iowa to Close a Kirkbride?, the state of Iowa is considering closing down one of it's four state psychiatric facilities.

Here's more about that from the Iowa Independent: Task Force Begins Evaluation of State’s Four Mental Health Institutions, and a sidebar piece about the hospitals: At a Glance: Iowa’s Four Historic Mental Health Institutions.

Here's an article describing a rally in support of keeping Cherokee Mental Health Institute open: MHI Rally Overwhelming. And here's another with a photo of the Kirkbride's theater filled to what looks like capacity: Large Crowd Shows Support for Cherokee MHI

They did the same thing at Dixmont back in the day, but it did not work. Bottom line is money talks.

I hope they don't close any of the hospitals, Iowa has really led the way in my opinion as far as adaptive reuse for thier Kirkbride buildings. I wish more states would have looked at ways to adapt and evolve their Kirkbrides rather than their "demolition by neglect" approach!

Here's another article about this: Cherokee Mental Health Institute: Are Facility's Days Numbered?

It seems odd that there are so many articles about Cherokee, but none really specifically about Independence, Clarinda or Mount Pleasant -- at least none that I've found or have had pointed out to me. As far as I can tell all four facilities are being reviewed and are potential targets for closing, but only Cherokee (the city) seems to be making any noise about it.

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing.

Well, you'd think the closing of such a facility would be economically devistating for the community. Do you suppose the reason Cherokee is more vocal is their feeling that theri facility is most in danger of closing? I hope that if any of Iowa Kirkbrides would be closed, there would be some reuse plan, but I have a hard time imagining, in these economic times, what that could be...

Yeah, that Cherokee could be the most likely to be closed seems the most likely reason. There's no public acknowledgement of that that I can see anywhere though. And when I visited the three Kirkbrides a few years ago, Cherokee seemed just as much in use as the other two, maybe even more so. But that's just my observation from one visit a while ago. I can't claim to be any sort of expert on Iowa's mental health department/system.

Here's an article about Independence: Input Sought on Independence Health Institute

It's a much "quieter" write up compared to all the Cherokee stories in the news.

An update: Towns Plead for Mental Health Institutes' Survival

I think part of the reason there was so much noise about Cherokee and not so much about Independence and Clarinda earlier was because Cherokee was visited by the task force first. Clarinda and Mount Pleasant will be visited on October 12th and 26th respectively.

This article: State Looks to Close One of Four mental Health Institutions in Iowa (kind of a redundant title...), mentions that Independence is in fact currently the largest facility in terms of patient beds with 95. Cherokee comes in third with 58, and Clarinda is last with 55 beds. That contradicts what I said elsewhere about Independence being the least active. Sorry about that. My observation was incorrect. Maybe that also has something to do with why people seem more afraid that Cherokee is going to be closed, although if the number of beds is used as the determining factor, Clarinda is obviously in a worse position.

I doubt that'll be the only determining factor, but it's good to know.

Clarinda Academy, a boot camp for teen offenders rents space in the Clarinda Kirkbride if i'm not mistaken. A friend of mine used to teach there and said that's where the kids slept. He also said there were hall after hall that remained unused though.

Is Clarinda Academy a state government agency, Kerbcheck? Or is it a private non-profit or something along those lines?

I think it's a private corporation that rents the space, but I could be wrong. Here's their web site: http://www.clarindaacademy.org/

Other than MHI and the Academy, I'm not certain of what else is currently housed in the Kirkbride... I had plans change last March and I never made it down there to visit... I still do want to go! I've driven by the Independence building and would really like to visit Cherokee too.

My friend told me that since he lived quite a few miles away, he would pack a bag and stay the night if the weather got bad, which is common in Iowa during the winter months, and he'd stay in the ward directly above where the kids slept, all by himself, in a large room with rows of beds... alrighty then

Huh. That must have been strange.

I seem to recall there also being some sort of prison at the Clarinda complex. Not sure if it's still there or how it would work into the equation if the MHI was closed.

The prison is located behind the Kirkbride, I believe. There is also a building across from the Kirkbride that used to be a nurses dorm or something that was abandonded for several years that now serves as housing for less restricted prisoners who are allowed to go into the community to work, if I remember my friend telling me correctly.