Cambridge Psychiatric Hospital
Cambridge Psychiatric Hospital began as an army hospital in 1943. The Fletcher General Army Hospital was leased to the State of Ohio in 1946 and was utilized as a Recuperation and Convalescent Hospital for Mental Cases. By the end of its first year of operation, the Cambridge Psychiatric Hospital (CPH), known at that time as Cambridge Mental Health Center, served over 1,800 patients on 52 wards with an average daily population of 1,024 patients. This initial population were transferred from State mental institutions and represented 80 of the 88 counties in Ohio. Most of the patients were chronic, difficult cases with little potential for improvement. Many had been hospitalized for over 10 years and the majority were immigrants with few family ties and little comprehension of English.
The Hospital went through a number of name changes that reflected shifts in its mission throughout the years. In 1980 the name was changed to the Cambridge Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center and in 1993 it became Cambridge Psychiatric Hospital.
The original facility consisted of 126 buildings, including 52 wards, 3 large heating plants, 7 operating rooms, a 600seat theater, dietary commissary complexes, a chapel, and administrative offices. Three and one half miles of corridors connected the buildings. Over the decades both the structure and mission of CPH have changed.
The current 80 bed hospital has seen its population drop from 1,416 patients to a approximately 70 patients in 1998. The hospital is a stateoperated hospital providing adult (18 years and older) impatient acute and extended care. The hospital's catchment area includes Belmont, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, and Washington counties. These rural counties are characterized by high unemployment, poverty, and increasing homelessness due in part to the closing of mining operations and a fluctuation in the agriculture environment. Despite increased demand for mental health services brought on in part from the stresses of unemployment, poverty, and other social conditions, the lengths of stay have dropped dramatically. Approximately 90% of patients receive treatment only on the acute wards and are returned to the community. In order to meet the needs of theses patients, a variety of programs are designed to meet their needs, such as: education, daily living activities, leisure time, work adjustment, occupational therapy, and behavior therapy.
The goal for all patients is to assist the individual to attain his/her highest level of functioning with the most clinically appropriate, least restrictive environment. The ultimate goal is appropriate community placement.