![Paimio-Hospital-1978](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Paimio-Hospital-1978.jpg)
A sanatorium (from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''
sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium,
are antiquated names for
specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific
diseases, related ailments and
convalescence
Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source of ...
. Sanatoriums are often located in a healthy climate, usually in the
countryside
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...
. The idea of healing was an important reason for the historical wave of establishments of sanatoriums, especially at the end of the 19th- and early 20th centuries. One sought for instance the healing of consumptives, especially
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
(before the
discovery of antibiotics) or
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
, but also of more obscure addictions and longings, of
hysteria,
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
,
fatigue and
emotional exhaustion
Emotional exhaustion is a chronic state of physical and emotional depletion that results from excessive job, personal demands, and/or continuous stress. It describes a feeling of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one's work. It is ma ...
. Facility operators were often charitable associations such as the
Order of St. John and the newly founded social welfare insurance companies.
Sanatoriums should not be confused with the Russian sanatoriums from the time of the Soviet Union, which were a type of
sanatorium resort residence for workers.
History
Conception
The first suggestion of sanatoria in the modern sense was likely made by
George Bodington
George Bodington (1799–1882) was a British general practitioner and pulmonary specialist.
Career
Born in Buckinghamshire and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, he served a surgical apprenticeship then studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital. ...
, who opened a sanatorium in
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...
in 1836 and later published his essay "On the Treatment and Cure of Pulmonary Consumption" in 1840. His novel approach was dismissed as "very crude ideas and unsupported assertions" by reviewers in the ''
Lancet'', and his sanatorium was converted to an asylum soon after. The rationale for sanatoria in the pre-
antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
era was that a regimen of rest and good nutrition offered the best chance that the patient's
immune system
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
would "wall off" pockets of pulmonary TB infection.
In 1863,
Hermann Brehmer
Hermann Brehmer (14 August 1826 – 28 December 1889) was a German physician who established the first German sanatorium for the systematic open-air treatment of tuberculosis.
Biography
Brehmer was born in Kurtsch (Kurczów) near Strehlen (Strz ...
opened the ''Brehmersche Heilanstalt für Lungenkranke'' in
Görbersdorf (Sokołowsko),
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
(now Poland), for the treatment of tuberculosis. Patients were exposed to plentiful amounts of high altitude, fresh air, and good nutrition. Tuberculosis sanatoria became common throughout Europe from the late-19th century onward.
Early establishments
The
Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium
The Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium was a tuberculosis sanatorium established in Saranac Lake, New York in 1885 by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau. After Trudeau's death in 1915, the institution's name was changed to the Trudeau Sanatorium, followi ...
, established in
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...
, in 1885, was the first such establishment in North America. According to the Saskatchewan Lung Association, when the National Anti-Tuberculosis Association (Canada) was founded in 1904, its members, including renowned pioneer in the fight against tuberculosis
Dr. R.G. Ferguson, believed that a distinction should be made between the health resorts with which people were familiar and the new tuberculosis treatment hospitals: "So they decided to use a new word which instead of being derived from the Latin noun ''sanitas'', meaning health, would emphasize the need for scientific healing or treatment. Accordingly, they took the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
verb root ''sano'', meaning to heal, and adopted the new word sanatorium."
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
used to have many sanatoria, as health professionals believed that clean, cold mountain air was the best treatment for
lung diseases
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, br ...
. In
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, a series of tuberculosis sanatoria were built throughout the country in isolated forest areas during the early 1900s. The most famous was the
Paimio Sanatorium
Paimio Sanatorium ( fi, Paimion parantola, sv, Pemars sanatorium) is a former tuberculosis sanatorium in Paimio, Southwest Finland, designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Aalto received the design commission having won the architectural ...
, completed in 1933, designed by world-renowned
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
. It had both sun-balconies and a rooftop terrace where the patients would lie all day either in beds or on specially designed chairs, the
Paimio Chair
Artek is a Finnish furniture company. It was founded in December 1935 by architect Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino Aalto, visual arts promoter Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl. The founders chose a non-Finnish name: the neologi ...
. In
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, the Heliantia Sanatorium in
Valadares was used for the treatment of bone tuberculosis between the 1930s and 1960s.
In 20th-century United States
In the early 20th century, tuberculosis sanatoria became common in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The first of several in
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
was established by Dr Horatio Page Gatchell in 1871, before the cause of tuberculosis (then called "phthisis" or "consumption") was even known. Fifty years earlier, Dr. J.F.E. Hardy had reportedly been cured in the "healing climate". Medical experts reported that at 2,200 feet (670 m) above sea level, air pressure was equal to that in blood vessels, and activities, scenery and lack of stress also helped. In the early 1900s, Arizona's sunshine and dry desert air attracted many people (called "lungers") who had tuberculosis, rheumatism, asthma, and numerous other diseases. Wealthier people chose to recuperate in exclusive TB resorts, while others used their savings to make the journey to Arizona and arrived penniless. TB camps in the desert were formed by pitching tents and building cabins. During the tuberculosis epidemic, cities in Arizona advertised the state as an ideal place for treatment of TB. Many sanatoria in the state of Arizona were modeled after European away-from-city resorts of the time, boasting courtyards and individual rooms. Each sanatorium was equipped to take care of about 120 people.
The first sanatorium in the Pacific Northwest opened in Milwaukie Heights, Oregon in 1905, followed closely by the first state-owned TB hospital in Salem, Oregon, in 1910. Oregon was the first state on the West Coast to enact legislation stating that the government was to supply proper housing for people with TB who are unable to receive proper care at home. The West Coast became a popular spot for sanatoriums.
The greatest area for sanatoria was in
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
with over 12 hotel-style facilities in the city. By 1920, Tucson had 7,000 people who had come for treatment of tuberculosis. So many people came to the West that not enough housing was available for them all. In 1910, tent cities began to pop up in different areas; one was described as a place of squalor and shunned by most citizens. Many of the infected slept in the open desert. The area adjacent to what was then central Phoenix, called Sunnyslope, was home to another large TB encampment, with the residents primarily living in tents pitched along the hillsides of the mountains that rise to the north of the city. Several sanatoria also opened in southern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the early part of the 20th century due to the dry, warm climate.
The first tuberculosis sanatorium for blacks in the
segregated South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
was the
Piedmont Sanatorium
Piedmont Sanatorium was a rest home for tubercular African Americans in Burkeville, Virginia from 1917 to 1965. It was the first facility of its kind ever to be established in the United States. The Sanatorium later became the site of Piedmont G ...
in
Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 432 at the 2010 census. The source of the town name is disputed. The town is located on the crossroads of U.S. Routes 360 and 460.
Businesses in the small tow ...
.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
The Waverly Hills Sanatorium is a former sanatorium located in the Waverly Hills neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky.
It opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients. In the early 1900s, Jefferson Count ...
, a
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, tuberculosis sanatorium, was founded in 1911. It has become a
mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
for curiosity seekers who believe it is haunted. Because of its dry climate,
Colorado Springs was home to several sanatoria.
A. G. Holley Hospital in Lantana,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, was the last remaining freestanding tuberculosis sanatorium in the United States until it closed on July 2, 2012.
In 1907, Stannington Sanatorium was opened in the North East of England to treat tuberculosis in children. The sanatorium was opened using funds raised by a local charity, the Poor Children's Holiday Association, now the region's oldest children's charity,
Children North East
Children North East is a registered charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The focus of the charity is to provide help and funding, through community based projects, to families, children and young people in the region who are experiencin ...
. The largest U.S. tuberculosis sanatorium was located on the site of Chicago's present-day North Park Village. Chicago's Peterson Park fieldhouse housed the lab and morgue of Chicago's Municipal Tuberculosis Sanatorium.
Discovery of antibiotics and decline
After 1943, when
Albert Schatz, then a graduate student at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
, discovered
streptomycin
Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, ''Burkholderia'' infection, plague, tularemia, and rat bite fever. Fo ...
, an antibiotic and the first cure for tuberculosis, sanatoria began to close. As in the case of the Paimio Sanatorium, many were transformed into general hospitals. By the 1950s, tuberculosis was no longer a major
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
threat; it was controlled by antibiotics rather than extended rest. Most sanatoria had been demolished years before.
Some, however, have been adapted for new medical roles. The
Tambaram Sanatorium
Tambaram Sanatorium is a locality between Chromepet and Tambaram, in Chennai, India. The neighbourhood is served by Tambaram Sanatorium railway station on the Chennai Beach–Villupuram section via Tambaram of the Chennai suburban railway.
Go ...
in south
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
is now a hospital for
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
patients. The state hospital in
Sanatorium, Mississippi Sanatorium is a community in Simpson County, Mississippi, U.S., northwest of Magee. The community was named for the Mississippi Tuberculosis Sanatorium, founded in 1916, which was a hospital for TB patients from 1918 to the 1950s.
In 1976, the ol ...
, is now a regional center for programs for treatment and occupational therapy associated with
intellectual disability
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
. In Japan in 2001, the ministry of welfare suggested changing the name of a
leprosarium
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Afr ...
to a sanatorium.
In culture
*''
The Magic Mountain
''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature.
Mann s ...
'', the 1924 novel by the German writer and social critic
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
, is set in a sanatorium.
*The Austrian-American Jewish poet and artist
Samuel Greenberg wrote three poems about his experiences in sanatoria including "Wards Island Symphonique".
*The American heavy metal band
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
has the song "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" on their 1986 ''
Master of Puppets
''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last albu ...
'' studio album, which had been in part inspired by ''
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''.
See also
*
Sanatorium (resort)
In Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet Union republics, the term sanatorium is generally used for a combination resort/recreational facility and a medical facility to provide short-term complex rest and medical services. It is similar to s ...
*
Battle Creek Sanitarium
The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John H ...
(Michigan, United States)
*
Leper colony
*
List of sanatoria in the United States
The following is a list of notable sanatoria (singular: ''sanatorium'') in the United States. Sanatoria were medical facilities that specialized in treatment for long-term illnesses. Many sanatoria in the United States specialized in treatment of ...
References
Further reading
Waverly Hills Sanatorium still source of local curiosity Douglas Kleier, Jr., Louisville Cardinal Online, Oct. 21, 2003.
*
*Thomas Spees Carrington. ''Tuberculosis Hospital and Sanatorium Construction'' (New York, 1911).
*
*
*
External links
*
(Bloomington, Illinois newspaper)
{{Authority control
Destination resorts