Chicago-Read Mental Health Center (CRMHC, often called simply Read) is a state-run inpatient

JCAHO The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majorit ...

-accredited facility with between 150 and 200 beds located in the neighborhood of Dunning on the northwest side of the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

close to

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It has served the adult residents of Chicago under various names since 1854 as a repository for the mentally ill and destitute and as an alternative to incarceration for mentally ill offenders. Its former names have included the Chicago State Hospital and the Charles F. Read Zone Center; in 1885, it was called The County Insane Asylum and Infirmary. Originally, it was simply known as "Dunning" though "Dunning" officially closed on June 30, 1912, and reopened the next day as Chicago State Hospital. Much later, it became the Chicago-Read Mental Health Center. Read has faced a number of setbacks in its time. In 1885, the

Chicago Woman's Club The Chicago Woman's Club was formed in 1876 by women in Chicago who were interested in "self and social improvement." The club was notable for creating educational opportunities in the Chicago region and helped create the first juvenile court in th ...

and other organizations in Chicago called for an investigation into the hospital to correct the many problems found there. In 1901, it was found that nurses had starved two mental patients to death there; in 1988, the director of the facility was dismissed under what were described as deplorable conditions for patients; in 1992, it was under investigation for civil rights violations and in 1993, Read lost its accreditation altogether.

References

{{authority control Hospitals in Chicago Psychiatric hospitals in Illinois North Side, Chicago 1854 establishments in Illinois Hospitals established in 1854