View of New York’s Emigrant Refuge and Hospital, Ward’s Island, courtesy Arno Press and the New York Times, 1969. Original circa early 1880s

When immigrants processed through New York, some were inevitably sick–and some were judged to be insane. Both groups were sent to a hospital on Ward’s Island in New York until they either got well or five years went by. If the insane had not recovered by then, they were sent to the New York City Asylum on Blackwell’s Island.

The hospital on Ward’s Island was a nightmare. The ratio of nurses to patients was typically 1:30, and graduate physicians worked there–usually without pay–simply to gain experience. Obviously, they had little to no experience caring for the insane and only stayed for a short time anyway, thereby depriving patients of any continuity in care.

Inebriate Asylum, Ward’s Island, 1869

The hospital was overcrowded despite occasional attempts to transfer insane patients elsewhere, such as to Randall’s Island and Hart’s Island. Randall’s Island first used an old inebriate hospital for the overflow (1875), but two years later had to use an unoccupied building and also lease an old barrack building from the Emigration Department. This latter building was extremely primitive, being without either individual rooms or “conveniences”. In all these places, cheapness reigned.

Pens at Ellis Island Registry Room. These People Have Passed the First Mental Inspection, courtesy Miriam and Ira Wallach Division of Art, Printing, and Photography Collection,1902 – 1913, New York Public Library

In my next post, I will discuss some of the conditions there and attempts to change them.