Willard Psychiatric Center Ward Inspection Reports

B1476-96: Arranged by type of inspection.

B1476-02, B1476-19: Chronological.

B1476-15: Arranged by ward, then chronological.

The first record type in this series is night watch reports (December 1885-December 1886).These printed forms are filled in each morning to record visits of the supervising nurse to sick patients at intervals during the previous night. Included are notes on patients' conditions; lists of excited and noisy patients; special incidents (usually notes of attendants' tardiness); and signature.

The second record type is weekly ward inspections by assistant physicians (August 1890-August 1900). These are narrative observations and recommendations for improvement of a variety of conditions including fire hazards, cleanliness of facilities, and needed repairs. Areas of the hospital inspected include wards; dining rooms; hallways; stairways; storage areas; basements; and attendants' rooms in the Main Building and Detached Buildings 1, 2, 3, and 4.

B1476-02: This accretion consists of a variety of types of inspection reports. Reports for some time periods are missing; others may overlap or be duplicated. Inspection reports dating from 1938-1941 document inspections of several wards and buildings by physicians and provide observations of wards or buildings visited; conditions of patients, facilities, and equipment; personnel performance; adequacy of staffing; need for repairs; fire drill scheduling; and quality of meals for patients and employees. The daily reports of night supervisors dating from 1953-1964 provide the name of supervisor reporting, wards and time visited, and names of employees on duty in each ward.

B1476-02: The accretion also includes brief facility inspection reports by the Safety Department for the year 1966; very detailed daily reports for one ward by the supervising nurses for March and June 1976; scattered checklists of custodial duties performed in 1984; and data collected for a 1980 study on patient nutrition.

B1476-15: These ward journals provide nurses' perspectives on daily patient and nurse activity in the ward. As such, they provide a window into the life of ward nurses. The journals consist of bound forms, where the copy has been retained after the original (not extant) was submitted to the shift supervisor. Each form records standard data such as number of patients and beds at the start and end of a shift, as well as on duty nurse's observations of patient activities, minor and major medical conditions, behavior, eating status, special incidents, recovery of patients from treatments such as ECT, and use of restraints. Also included are comments on unit needs (i.e. refill towel dispensers) and activities (i.e. fire alarm). Also included are shift reports and specialized reports. Notations tend to have less technical jargon than administrators' accounts, and references to patients are made with initials or last name only.

Records are organized by building, and then in chronological order based on sequential dates. Groupings within building often reflect wards and/or shifts. Entries that cross buildings have been noted. Each building has a designated code, and volumes are frequently identified only by building code and/or ward code, or by ward number (for Hatch only). Wards often had a unique focus: Medical/Surgery (Elliot Hall and Hatch); Extended Care and Rehab (Birches, Hatch 2A); PPMRU (Hatch); Psychiatric Rehab (Hatch 2A); GAPP (Hatch 2A, Hatch 2BS); APP (Hatch 2A, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C); and ACT (Hatch 3B, 3C).

Several ward consolidations were noted during processing. In June 1990, Hatch wards 2BS/068 (GAPP) and 2A (Extended Care) were consolidated into Elliot Hall ward 35; in February 1991 Elliot Hall wards 31 and 34 were merged with Hatch 3B, and Birches ward 42 was moved to Elliot Hall ward 35 (Medical/Surgical). Subsequently Elliot Hall ward 35 was consolidated into Hatch 3A (APP).

B1476-19: This accretion consists of twp types of reports: Nurses' Supervisor Reports and ACT Floor Reports. Nurses' Supervisor Reports contain observations recorded by staff assigned to grounds supervision during evening, night, and weekend shifts in 1980. Information found in these reports includes the time each building was inspected; admissions made during the shift; incidents such as accidents, injuries, or illnesses; and sick calls. ACT Floor Reports were created by staff members assigned to ward 066 of the Hatch Building between 1983 and 1987. These records contain notes on the daily activities of patients in this ward.

B1476-15: An index to building codes and wards is available at the repository.

These records were transferred to the State Archives from Willard Psychiatric Center at the time of its closure in April, 1995.

This series has been transferred to the State Archives under records disposition number 19266.

Portions of this series are restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office of Mental Health.