In 1881, Dr. E. O. Bennett and his wife were employed as Medical Superintendent and Matron, respectively. In 1887, Dr. Bennett permanently removed the chains, shackles, and dim cells in which the insane patients had been housed. In 1900, Bennett retired as Superintendent of the Asylum after serving 19 years in this position.
Dr. E.O. Bennett was employed as the first professional “Keeper;” and this title was retained until 1885, when the designation of Medical Superintendent was used for the first time. There is no recorded action on the part of the Board in changing the title; but the change was final for the term “Keeper” in reference to the Asylum, as it no longer appeared in any of the official records of the Institution.
In 1907 a State law provided that alcoholics and drug addicts could be maintained in State and County hospitals. By 1913 the employee force consisted of 22 males and 44 female attendants; with a monthly payroll of $2,151; and a patient population of 576, of which 456 were State charges, 102 were County charges, and the balance were private.
In 1923 the first professional social worker was employed and the Social Service Department for the Mental Hospital was organized. By this time, the populationhad grown to 1,700 patients. With the addition of more buildings in the ensuing year, this department was enlarged until by 1936 it had grown ti six members. In the early days of the department, in 1923, the science of hospital social service was in its infancy. There were very few traditions to be followed because mental hospitals up to that time had been largely custodial insitutions and less interested in the patient’s welfare than in keeping them removed from society. The Social Service Department helped make the transition from “asylum” to “hospital” due to its emphasis on the causes and development of the patient’s illness, emphasizing his backround and personal history.
[ This information presented in whole from “A History of the Wayne County Infirmary, Psychiatric, and General Hospital Complex at Eloise, Michigan” by Alvin C. Clark; page 47. ]