I was an active employee at Willard. I was an LPN back then, a new nurse- and worked from 1983 to 1986. I worked in the "Birches" building with psych older women. The staff ,including me ,buried a time capsule into the ground by the building!!! The ward was huge with beds lined up like soldiers in dorms. They still had a surgery unit in another building! the m
edications used often was Thorazine, Mellaril. I did not like my job there, I transferred to the DDSO in Newark where condtions were better, but that is another interesting untold story.
Jennifer Morrisey
Wednesday 22nd of April 2015
Jan,
I visited the Newark Grounds and wrote a short post about the history of the buildings. I just ran across a video this morning on Youtube with conditions very similar to what you are describing at Utica
Hey there, I'm so glad you are here! I'm Jen, and I created Home in the Finger Lakes to celebrate life in the Finger Lakes, and to help families live well, have fun and enjoy life in Upstate New York. I love to write about life in Upstate, our family favorite meals, regional recipes, and stories from our family farm
Jan Johnson
Monday 20th of April 2015
I was an active employee at Willard. I was an LPN back then, a new nurse- and worked from 1983 to 1986. I worked in the "Birches" building with psych older women. The staff ,including me ,buried a time capsule into the ground by the building!!! The ward was huge with beds lined up like soldiers in dorms. They still had a surgery unit in another building! the m edications used often was Thorazine, Mellaril. I did not like my job there, I transferred to the DDSO in Newark where condtions were better, but that is another interesting untold story.
Jennifer Morrisey
Wednesday 22nd of April 2015
Jan, I visited the Newark Grounds and wrote a short post about the history of the buildings. I just ran across a video this morning on Youtube with conditions very similar to what you are describing at Utica