Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center, formerly named the Kankakee State Hospital, is a developmental center in Kankakee,

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 ...

, on the banks of the

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in N ...

History

In 1877, the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

established the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane and empowered the Governor to appoint a seven-member commission to select a site within northeastern Illinois on which to locate the institution. After selection of a site in Kankakee, three trustees were appointed by the Governor to supervise planning and construction, choose a superintendent, and operate the hospital, subject to inspection by the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. The hospital opened on September 4, 1879, and began to operate a training school for nurses in 1886. When the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities was abolished in 1909, the institute was reorganized and renamed Kankakee State Hospital, effective January 1, 1910. In 1917, the Department of Public Welfare assumed responsibility for the Kankakee State Hospital and retained control until the creation of the Department of Mental Health in 1961 (L. 1961, p. 2666). On May 10, 1974, the institution became a center for the care and treatment of the developmentally disabled only. All other patients were transferred to other mental health facilities and the institution became the Shapiro Developmental Center. It was renamed the Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center in honor of the Illinois Governor,

Samuel H. Shapiro Samuel Harvey Shapiro (born Israel Shapiro; April 25, 1907 – March 16, 1987) was the 34th governor of Illinois, serving from 1968 to 1969. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Life and career Born in 1907 in the Governorate of Eston ...

(1968–1969), who had resided in Kankakee.

Today

As of the end of fiscal year 2010, the center had an annual budget expenditure of . As of the end of fiscal year 2008, the center had 1,119 employees, 587 residents and an annual cost per resident of $175,844. The Shapiro Center was generating and submitting to the state treasury, 65% of its total operational costs. There are underground utility tunnels leading from building to building in the facility. These tunnels were similar to nearby

Manteno State Hospital Manteno State Hospital (formerly Manteno State Mental Hospital) was a psychiatric hospital located in rural Manteno Township in Kankakee County, Illinois. Founding The facility was authorized in 1927 by the 55th Illinois General Assembly with ...

's tunnels. This is a result of having a central steam plant for building heating, and it is typical of hospitals constructed under the

Kirkbride Plan The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by American psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings (or simp ...

Notable staff

* Adolf Meyer

Notes

References

External links

Kankakee State info & historyHigh Definition video from Kirkbrides HD
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1879 Buildings and structures in Kankakee County, Illinois Hospitals established in 1879 Kankakee, Illinois Psychiatric hospitals in Illinois 1879 establishments in Illinois