Thomas Kirkbride and the Kirkbride Plan

Engraving of Pennsylvania Hospital 

One of the most influential characters in the mental hospital world is Dr. Thomas Kirkbride. He alone contributed immensely to the reform of mental hospitals and the way they are perceived. Dr. Kirkbride was superintendent of Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, but was more prominently known for his contributions to the mental medical scene by his list of requirements of a successful mental hospital, titled the “Kirkbride Plan”. Dr. Kirkbride believed that the design, layout, and surroundings of the hospitals were just as important as the treatment being performed inside. He created a list of requirements for hospitals to follow to ensure they are being run in the most efficient and human manor. Some examples of his suggestions are that the hospitals should be located in the country on plenty of land, be accessible during every season, constructed of stone and brick to prevent fires, and each room must have at least one window. These requirements along with several others made up, The Kirkbride Plan. Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Dr. Kirkbride’s hospital, was one of the many hospitals that followed the plan. He valued aesthetics and design and believed they were essential components to health and healing for his patients. It was important for him that the patients felt comfortable, and was a major pioneer for moral treatment of mental patients during his career. Kirkbride believed that well-planned, and well-maintained hospitals would increase the quality of care for the patients, and overall create a more successful and efficient hospital.

Sheppard, and Enoch Pratt Hospital. “Kirkbride, Thomas Story.” Social Welfare History Project, 15 Nov. 2018, socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/state-institutions/kirkbride-thomas-story/.