Metropolitan State Hospital (California)

Metropolitan State Hospital is an American public hospital for the mentally ill, located in the city of Norwalk in Los Angeles County, California. Metropolitan State Hospital provides mental health care and treatment to forensic and civilly committed patients in need of a structured and secure environment. It has about 900 patients.

It is not to be confused with the now defunct Metropolitan State Hospital in Massachusetts.

Services
The hospital provides a range of psychiatric treatment in a continuum of care. This continuum includes Acute care, Intermediate /Subacute care, Psychiatric Rehabilitation, and a Skilled Nursing Facility. The programs were developed to respond to the identified inpatient treatment needs of the Counties.

A program management model specializing in legal commitments, programs for Spanish speaking patients, Intensive Treatment and Clinical Research Unit, and Asian/Pacific Treatment Unit. The hospital is unique among State facilities serving the mentally disordered in that it admits a large proportion of acutely ill psychiatric patients resulting in a rapid turnover rate and a shorter length of stay.

An Asian/Pacific Treatment Unit is the only service of its type in the country housed in a state mental hospital. It is a joint effort by the California Department of Mental Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and the numerous community agencies which comprise the Asian/Pacific Planning Council. Socialization and rehabilitation of the patient in preparation for reentry into the community form the philosophical basis for treatment.

The Intensive Treatment and Research Unit, which is a male inpatient facility for the chronically persons with mental disabilities, is co-sponsored by Metropolitan State Hospital and the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. The program is a major component of research being conducted by the two institutions with the treatment focus directed toward the chronically refractory and treatment resistant patient.

Metropolitan State Hospital is a major teaching resource in Southern California. In addition to continuing educational programs for its staff, it holds numerous college and university affiliations. Included among these are rotations of psychiatric residents and medical students from the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. The hospital offers a pre- and post-doctoral internship program for psychologist and a fully approved internship program for music therapists. Affiliations with Chapman, Cypress, Golden West, Long Beach City, Mount San Antonio, Rio Hondo Community and California State University, Los Angeles provide training for nurses and psychiatric technicians who receive psychiatric inpatient experience at the hospital.

Specific patient programming utilizes individual and group therapy, occupational and recreational therapy and the management of social and financial problems by developing linkages back to the community. Basic treatment services include medical, nursing, rehabilitation, pharmacy, dietary, psychology and social services.

History
The hospital’s history begins during the years 1914 and 1915 when the legislature authorized the expenditure of about $400,000 for the purchase of land on which to build a state hospital designed to provide care and treatment to California’s increasing population of persons with psychiatric disabilities. At the time, three potential sites for the new facility were under consideration - Beverly Hills, Signal Hill and Norwalk. The decision to place the hospital in Norwalk was prompted primarily because of its location, with easy access to good roads and railroad service. Metropolitan’s early site encompassed over 300 acres.

The hospital was self sufficient in its early days. A dairy, garden, pigs, and cows produced income and food products that could be used by the staff and patients. The farm also kept food costs at a minimum as milk prices alone had increased from 17 cents per gallon in 1916 to 32 cents in 1918.

As the area around the Hospital became developed after World War II and the city of Norwalk grew around it, many changes have taken place. The biggest change in patient care has come from development of psychotropic medications, increased therapies and new community standards. The Hospital has since consolidated it's facilities and grounds into its present 162 acres.

Subject of the damning expose, Hurry Tomorrow.[]

Accreditation
Metropolitan State Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and certified by the Healthcare Finance Administration. Accreditation is a voluntary process. Medical and psychiatric facilities across the country must request to be surveyed with results evaluated against nationally recognized standards of care.

External link

 * Metropolitan State Hospital Home Page