WEBVTT

00:00:01.589 --> 00:00:03.859
(scratchy audio)

00:00:04.665 --> 00:00:08.369
(music)

00:00:10.351 --> 00:00:11.122
(male voice)

00:00:11.122 --> 00:00:14.256
Christmas time, the holidays is this the

00:00:14.256 --> 00:00:16.178
way they end for me, here in this place?

00:00:16.190 --> 00:00:18.584
A "mental hospital" they call it. Huh.

00:00:18.584 --> 00:00:21.111
That's a fancy name that is, but I knowa

00:00:21.111 --> 00:00:23.381
better, the "Bug House". A place where

00:00:23.381 --> 00:00:26.703
they'll lock you up and then throw away the key.

00:00:26.703 --> 00:00:30.713
And now they've go me too. Me, Fred Clanton.

00:00:30.713 --> 00:00:33.741
Fred Clanton, Fred Clanton. Is that really

00:00:33.741 --> 00:00:36.953
my name? Oh, everything's so mixed up.

00:00:41.303 --> 00:00:44.372
These grounds, these buildings, they're

00:00:44.372 --> 00:00:48.863
all so dark. Everything's dark, even the sky.

00:00:48.863 --> 00:00:53.285
I'll never get out. That George. He's turned them

00:00:53.285 --> 00:00:56.654
all against me. Even Betty. They keep

00:00:56.654 --> 00:00:59.817
talking about me. Why won't they let me alone?

00:01:10.434 --> 00:01:12.972
Oh my god, oh no, don't let them take me

00:01:12.972 --> 00:01:16.470
in there. I'll never get out. Oh god, what will

00:01:16.470 --> 00:01:18.039
happen to me now?

00:02:03.701 --> 00:02:04.570
(male voice)

00:02:04.570 --> 00:02:06.497
Narrator: What will happen to Fred now?

00:02:06.497 --> 00:02:08.676
What happens to all of them? The men and

00:02:08.676 --> 00:02:11.002
women from every walk of life who each

00:02:11.002 --> 00:02:13.333
year pass through doors like this. Into the

00:02:13.333 --> 00:02:16.681
mental hospitals of our land. Here, in the story,

00:02:16.681 --> 00:02:18.725
of Fred Clanton and the typical

00:02:18.725 --> 00:02:21.567
Oklahoma State Hospital to which he

00:02:21.567 --> 00:02:24.339
came, the spotlight focuses on these people.

00:02:34.743 --> 00:02:37.060
Many patients are old and often theirs is

00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:40.164
a tragedy of hospitals such as this. The tragedy

00:02:40.164 --> 00:02:42.533
of fathers and mothers too old to work,

00:02:42.533 --> 00:02:44.517
rejected by their own children.

00:02:44.517 --> 00:02:46.317
Classed as senile and committed to mental

00:02:46.317 --> 00:02:49.277
hospitals because there's nowhere else for them

00:02:49.277 --> 00:02:53.620
to go. Yet, given proper care, they can still adjust.

00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.039
Make new friends to ease the passing of years.

00:03:08.694 --> 00:03:11.469
Some patients are disturbed, unable to care

00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:13.998
for themselves in normal life situations.

00:03:17.968 --> 00:03:20.807
Others are physically, as well as mentally, ill.

00:03:23.337 --> 00:03:25.912
Many are capable of limited adjustment. Able

00:03:25.912 --> 00:03:28.917
to work at varied tasks within the hospital.

00:03:33.988 --> 00:03:36.062
There's the veteran, returned from years of

00:03:36.062 --> 00:03:39.531
service over seas. The farmer, who had never set

00:03:39.531 --> 00:03:41.842
foot outside of his home county until he came

00:03:41.842 --> 00:03:47.506
here. Deterioration, chronic conditions, limit hope

00:03:47.506 --> 00:03:50.777
for some. Others, may go home tomorrow.

00:03:55.526 --> 00:03:58.976
Meanwhile they are living here. 3,200 men and women

00:03:58.976 --> 00:04:01.720
all gather together in a modern mental institution.

00:04:01.720 --> 00:04:04.897
A city in itself, complete with every facility

00:04:04.897 --> 00:04:07.514
for effective treatment. Though shortages in

00:04:07.514 --> 00:04:10.558
hospital personnel do exist, patients are secure

00:04:10.558 --> 00:04:13.451
and comfortable and most of them are happy.

00:04:13.451 --> 00:04:16.337
But while mere custodial care can never be enough,

00:04:16.337 --> 00:04:18.940
a favorable environment and human comforts

00:04:18.940 --> 00:04:21.429
are essential in any therapeutic system.

00:04:26.249 --> 00:04:29.676
For most, meals are served cafeteria style. Food is

00:04:29.676 --> 00:04:32.589
plentiful and good, an investment in patient health.

00:04:37.689 --> 00:04:41.640
Just baking the bread for 3,000 people is a man-sized job.

00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:48.291
Above all though, these kitchen chores offer patients

00:04:48.291 --> 00:04:50.998
work. The therapy of "busy hands".

00:04:54.147 --> 00:04:57.165
The laundry, more chances for patients to focus

00:04:57.165 --> 00:05:01.120
on specific realities outside themselves. First step

00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.871
along the road that leads to recovery and release.

00:05:09.051 --> 00:05:11.836
The patients tell you the power plant smoke stack is

00:05:11.836 --> 00:05:15.782
525 feet tall. They seem to take a personal pride

00:05:15.782 --> 00:05:19.302
in it. Maybe because power is so important here.

00:05:19.364 --> 00:05:22.588
The sick must have heat and light. There's water to be

00:05:22.588 --> 00:05:25.743
pumped and food cooked, and laundry washed.

00:05:38.280 --> 00:05:41.299
Patients must be housed and today's new hospital

00:05:41.299 --> 00:05:43.828
buildings center on human needs and comfort.

00:05:43.828 --> 00:05:46.310
Whether they provide living quarters or treatment

00:05:46.310 --> 00:05:48.439
facilities, whether they are there for convalescence,

00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:52.299
old people, the tubercular, veterans, or occupational

00:05:52.299 --> 00:05:55.260
therapy, these modern structures are part of

00:05:55.260 --> 00:05:58.839
a long range, integrated plan to improve conditions

00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:01.469
for all who live within these grounds.

00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:17.280
Special units provide homes for nurses and attendants.

00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:20.277
For they too play a vital role in helping patients to regain

00:06:20.277 --> 00:06:24.210
health. In addition to the regular staff, student nurses come

00:06:24.210 --> 00:06:28.619
here to learn to recognize and care for the mentally ill.

00:06:34.838 --> 00:06:37.330
There are lakes for fishing.

00:06:40.719 --> 00:06:43.674
The hospital farm cuts operating costs, provides

00:06:43.674 --> 00:06:46.470
fresh truck and dairy products. And the familiar

00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:49.403
scenes, the work, help make patients from rural

00:06:49.403 --> 00:06:51.499
areas feel at home.

00:06:57.315 --> 00:07:00.179
They come from all sorts of homes, these patients.

00:07:00.179 --> 00:07:03.898
All kinds of backgrounds. But somewhere along the line,

00:07:03.898 --> 00:07:08.460
life became too much for them. Some apply for

00:07:08.460 --> 00:07:12.280
voluntary admission to the hospital. 1 of the 3 procedures

00:07:12.280 --> 00:07:15.315
by which residents may enter a state mental institution in

00:07:15.315 --> 00:07:18.639
Oklahoma. Many former patients return of their own free will

00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.219
when new troubles assail them. All applicants for voluntary

00:07:22.219 --> 00:07:25.770
admission are held a minimum of 15 days for examination

00:07:25.770 --> 00:07:28.255
before they may be released.

00:07:37.978 --> 00:07:40.789
Other patients are certified for admission by two

00:07:40.789 --> 00:07:44.340
competent medical examiners. This is the second method by

00:07:44.340 --> 00:07:46.992
which patients enter the hospital under the terms of

00:07:46.992 --> 00:07:49.284
Oklahoma's mental health law.

00:07:59.459 --> 00:08:02.499
The majority, however, come by court order.

00:08:02.499 --> 00:08:05.673
Committed either by a judge or a 6 man jury.

00:08:05.673 --> 00:08:08.161
This was the case with Fred Clanton.

00:08:08.871 --> 00:08:13.048
Judge: Fred Planton? Oh yes, how are you Fred?

00:08:13.048 --> 00:08:17.058
Fred: Well I'd be alright if they'd just let me alone.

00:08:17.058 --> 00:08:20.846
Judge: Well, why don't you tell me about it?

00:08:20.846 --> 00:08:25.158
Fred: You can't fool me. I know you're in with them too.

00:08:26.138 --> 00:08:31.481
Judge: Fred, I'm going to send you to the hospital.

00:08:31.481 --> 00:08:34.755
And if you will cooperate with those doctors

00:08:34.755 --> 00:08:37.986
I think they'll be able to do you some good.

00:08:40.870 --> 00:08:43.610
Narrator: The admitting clerk records Fred's case history

00:08:43.610 --> 00:08:46.987
as soon as he enters the hospital. Takes care of valuables

00:08:46.987 --> 00:08:50.117
until he has sufficiently improved to be trusted with them.

00:09:03.278 --> 00:09:06.711
Escorted to the receiving ward by an attendant, he's

00:09:06.711 --> 00:09:08.742
bathed and outfitted.

00:09:17.188 --> 00:09:20.470
He gets a blood test. Part of the medical examination given

00:09:20.470 --> 00:09:24.206
each patient on admission. There is a chest x-ray also.

00:09:26.823 --> 00:09:28.899
And a spinal fluid test.

00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:36.821
Finally comes the neuro-psychiatric check. Designed to bring

00:09:36.821 --> 00:09:39.628
out data related to the patient's mental disorder.

00:09:42.184 --> 00:09:45.998
Fred: They're turning my wife, you know, Betty, against me.

00:09:45.998 --> 00:09:48.305
They're taking up all of her time.

00:09:48.305 --> 00:09:51.818
Psychiatrist: Why do you think they are doing you this way?

00:09:51.818 --> 00:09:56.666
Fred: Well, I've been working on this for years.

00:09:56.666 --> 00:10:01.208
They don't know it but I'm on to them. You see?

00:10:01.208 --> 00:10:04.900
If they can just get Betty to team up with them, then

00:10:04.900 --> 00:10:07.747
they'll all fight again together.

00:10:12.424 --> 00:10:14.957
A clinical psychologist gives Fred a variety of

00:10:14.957 --> 00:10:18.062
specialized tests. In order to make possible a more

00:10:18.062 --> 00:10:21.378
accurate evaluation of his total personality.

00:10:56.018 --> 00:10:59.068
Following the examination and testing, an informal

00:10:59.068 --> 00:11:01.631
meeting of the hospital staff arrives at a tentative

00:11:01.631 --> 00:11:05.510
diagnosis of Schizophrenia, paranoid type. Fred

00:11:05.510 --> 00:11:07.844
benefits from the skill and experience of all members

00:11:07.844 --> 00:11:11.271
of the staff as well as the psychiatrist to whose care he

00:11:11.271 --> 00:11:13.800
has assigned.

00:11:14.410 --> 00:11:18.009
(music)

00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:39.920
Diagnosis and staff approval completed, the patient is transferred

00:11:39.920 --> 00:11:42.181
to a treatment ward for therapy.

00:11:53.420 --> 00:11:56.747
In Fred's case, insulin shock is prescribed.

00:11:56.747 --> 00:11:59.489
A common treatment for Schizophrenia.

00:12:08.297 --> 00:12:12.706
Electroshock therapy may be recommended for other disorders.

00:12:20.746 --> 00:12:24.778
Hydrotherapy is useful in calming disturbed patients.

00:12:30.888 --> 00:12:33.554
So are sedative packs.

00:12:40.627 --> 00:12:43.558
But whatever the mode of treatment, it's essential

00:12:43.558 --> 00:12:45.728
that it be supplemented by an atmosphere of

00:12:45.728 --> 00:12:49.189
security and calm. The effective hospital must always

00:12:49.189 --> 00:12:52.509
serve as a refuge for its patients. A place where they can

00:12:52.509 --> 00:12:55.763
live quietly, during that period of reorientation in

00:12:55.763 --> 00:12:58.848
which they learn how to achieve a better adjustment

00:12:58.848 --> 00:13:00.600
to the world outside.

00:13:07.430 --> 00:13:10.489
Degree of adjustment, the level of orientation varies

00:13:10.489 --> 00:13:12.879
sharply from patient to patient.

00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:14.705
Some show a complete loss of contact with

00:13:14.705 --> 00:13:19.129
reality. Dark shadows across disordered minds.

00:13:22.778 --> 00:13:25.896
In other wards, are light in life. A return from

00:13:25.896 --> 00:13:28.747
private worlds to the here and now.

00:13:39.334 --> 00:13:42.283
As patients improve they are moved to wards

00:13:42.283 --> 00:13:44.599
in keeping with their condition. They are given

00:13:44.599 --> 00:13:47.220
the opportunity for contact with others who are also

00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:49.529
getting better. Shown that their status as

00:13:49.529 --> 00:13:52.630
individuals is recognized. That no matter what their

00:13:52.630 --> 00:13:54.913
problem, there still is hope.

00:14:06.438 --> 00:14:09.630
In Fred's case, Insulin Therapy, brought relatively

00:14:09.630 --> 00:14:12.206
quick improvement. Close linked with it, helping

00:14:12.206 --> 00:14:15.229
further, was personal follow up attention by the

00:14:15.229 --> 00:14:18.782
psychiatrist directing his treatment and care.

00:14:26.746 --> 00:14:30.161
Occupational therapy reinforces shock treatment,

00:14:30.161 --> 00:14:32.551
helped Fred to draw away from his feelings of

00:14:32.551 --> 00:14:36.725
antagonism and suspicion and move closer to reality.

00:14:44.741 --> 00:14:48.059
Boredom is always an enemy of the mentally ill.

00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:51.599
Now improving, Fred begins to take increasing interest in

00:14:51.599 --> 00:14:54.059
the wide variety of recreational facilities.

00:14:54.059 --> 00:14:57.412
Patients enjoy movies just as much as anyone.

00:14:57.412 --> 00:15:00.531
And a hot game of dominoes, or pool, or ping pong

00:15:00.531 --> 00:15:02.312
is always fun.

00:15:11.923 --> 00:15:14.947
The sewing room is popular and a permanent wave

00:15:14.947 --> 00:15:17.468
may serve as a mile stone of self-respect for many

00:15:17.468 --> 00:15:20.423
women in spite of the bubble gum.

00:15:25.089 --> 00:15:28.060
Books mean so much to so many.

00:15:31.689 --> 00:15:34.126
Improvement brings added privileges,

00:15:34.126 --> 00:15:35.968
a more normal life.

00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:42.159
What could be better than an afternoon softball game?

00:15:47.352 --> 00:15:50.106
Friday dances give Fred a chance for contact with

00:15:50.106 --> 00:15:55.155
women on a social plane. Help to spark his dormant pride.

00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:03.169
Religious services and the chapel offer inspiration.

00:16:03.169 --> 00:16:05.900
Then, there's the happy day when Fred is granted

00:16:05.900 --> 00:16:08.181
grounds privileges.

00:16:08.181 --> 00:16:09.842
Fred: Fine doctor. As a matter of fact I feel like

00:16:09.852 --> 00:16:12.470
going back to work.

00:16:12.470 --> 00:16:15.767
Doctor: Well, uh, you have to stay around the hospital

00:16:15.767 --> 00:16:17.402
for a few days, maybe we can find something

00:16:17.402 --> 00:16:18.590
for you to do here?

00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:19.396
Fred: Oh?

00:16:19.396 --> 00:16:20.876
Doctor: How would you like to help us out

00:16:20.876 --> 00:16:22.598
around the hospital here?

00:16:22.598 --> 00:16:23.938
Fred: I don't know whether there's much

00:16:23.938 --> 00:16:24.952
I can do or not.

00:16:24.952 --> 00:16:28.756
Doctor: We have quite a few jobs that, uh, you could,

00:16:28.756 --> 00:16:31.999
might do. For example, you might, uh, work up the

00:16:31.999 --> 00:16:36.779
dairy, might help out in the garden, or you might, uh,

00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:40.234
work over in the cafeteria or we might even

00:16:40.234 --> 00:16:41.960
be able to get you on the ground crew.

00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:42.454
Fred: Ground crew?

00:16:42.454 --> 00:16:43.433
Doctor: Yes sir.

00:16:43.433 --> 00:16:45.242
Fred: I'd like that a lot, I really would.

00:16:45.242 --> 00:16:48.061
Doctor: Well that's swell. You just report out there

00:16:48.061 --> 00:16:49.910
in the morning and everything will be alright.

00:16:49.910 --> 00:16:50.693
Fred: In the morning?

00:16:50.693 --> 00:16:51.967
Doctor: Yes sir.

00:16:54.577 --> 00:16:56.832
Narrator: What a difference it makes. At last

00:16:56.832 --> 00:16:59.931
Fred can be outside once more, working, enjoying

00:16:59.931 --> 00:17:01.848
the sun and the seasons.

00:17:05.399 --> 00:17:08.448
There are the days when visitors come. The chance

00:17:08.448 --> 00:17:11.499
to talk again with Betty. And George comes too.

00:17:11.499 --> 00:17:14.744
And now, somehow, he doesn't seem quite as bad

00:17:14.744 --> 00:17:16.369
as he did before.

00:17:23.870 --> 00:17:26.911
It's not too long til the psychiatrist decides that

00:17:26.911 --> 00:17:29.580
Fred can try it for a while at home. He talks

00:17:29.580 --> 00:17:32.217
with Betty and with George. Helps them

00:17:32.217 --> 00:17:34.526
to understand that they too have vital roles

00:17:34.526 --> 00:17:37.470
to play in aiding Fred to adjust successfully

00:17:37.470 --> 00:17:39.554
to the world outside.

00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:52.440
Then the word's passed to the switchboard to call Fred in.

00:18:00.098 --> 00:18:02.042
How well he looks.

00:18:06.765 --> 00:18:08.806
A cigarette from the doctor.

00:18:10.407 --> 00:18:13.379
And Fred's hand is steady.

00:18:16.562 --> 00:18:19.801
Packing at last. A man can be proud of the

00:18:19.801 --> 00:18:22.711
things he's created with his own two hands.

00:18:22.711 --> 00:18:25.257
And a hospital can be proud too.

00:18:25.257 --> 00:18:29.377
Proud to see a patient face the world as a man again.

00:18:41.281 --> 00:18:44.842
Fred: So this is it. Today I'm going home.

00:18:44.842 --> 00:18:48.219
Six months it's taken. If I'd come here sooner I might

00:18:48.219 --> 00:18:51.406
have been out in three. But all I could think about

00:18:51.406 --> 00:18:54.499
was fear. The way everyone was all against me.

00:18:54.499 --> 00:18:59.191
How much I hated George. How wrong I was.

00:18:59.191 --> 00:19:04.463
Or no, not wrong, sick. And now that I'm well again

00:19:04.463 --> 00:19:07.660
I can't help feeling just a little sad. The way you

00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:10.368
always do when you leave a place where you lived,

00:19:10.368 --> 00:19:15.347
learned, and grown. But I am well and I know it.

00:19:15.347 --> 00:19:19.808
I'm able to face the world again. My own hometown.

00:19:19.808 --> 00:19:22.848
(laugh) Huh, I suppose there'll be some folks

00:19:22.848 --> 00:19:26.869
who will stare and talk and sneer. But no matter

00:19:26.869 --> 00:19:32.057
what they say or do, one thing I know- these people here,

00:19:32.057 --> 00:19:38.217
this place and time, has given my life back to me.

00:19:38.379 --> 00:19:40.451
(music)