What is history of broughton hospital?

Broughton Hospital, also known as Broughton State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in Morganton, North Carolina, United States. The hospital was established in 1883 as the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum. It was the first hospital in North Carolina for the treatment of mental illnesses.

The asylum was established after a growing concern for the treatment of mentally ill people in the state. Dr. William C. McDuffie, a prominent physician and advocate for the mentally ill, was instrumental in the establishment of the asylum. The hospital was built on a 300-acre site in McDowell County, now located in Burke County.

The hospital was initially designed to house up to 350 patients. Over time, the hospital expanded and by the early 1900s, it had over 1,000 patients. The hospital grew to become a self-contained community, with its own farm, bakery, laundry, and even a fire department.

The asylum changed its name to Broughton State Hospital in 1959, in honor of J. Melville Broughton, former governor of North Carolina. The hospital continued to expand over the years, with new buildings and facilities added.

In the 1980s, the hospital began to transition from a large, centralized institution to a more community-based system of care. Many patients were either discharged or transferred to smaller hospitals and community-based programs.

Today, Broughton Hospital is a 297-bed psychiatric hospital and serves as the flagship facility of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. It provides inpatient psychiatric care, as well as outpatient services and community-based programs.