Broughton Hospital and School of Nursing

Broughton Hospital and School of Nursing
Location: 
Morganton, NC
Date Est.: 
1883

Timeline of Broughton Hospital

  • 1883: An asylum for the "white insane" living in the western half of the state was opened in Morganton on March 29, 1883. Shortly thereafter, approximately 100 patients were transferred by rail from the crowded Dix Hospital in Raleigh. During the first two years of operation, 252 patients were treated. The name of the hospital was changed from the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum to the State Hospital at Morganton in 1890. This name was retained until 1959, when it was changed to Broughton Hospital after then Governor J. Melville Broughton.
  • 1895-1962: A Nursing School operated at Broughton Hospital in Morganton. It admitted white female students.
  • 1908: A Nurses Home was built on the campus of Broughton Hospital.
  • 1920s: Staffing figures from Broughton Hospital indicated there was one physician to 355 patients and one attendant to 13 patients. Nurses were on duty 15 hours per day including Sundays, with one afternoon off each week from 2-6 PM and one evening off from 7-10 PM.
  • 1963: In 1963 the Community Mental Health Act was passed and President John F. Kennedy called for the creation of 2,000 community mental health centers, which were to be within the geographic and economic reach of all citizens. Community Mental Health centers were established in many North Carolina communities, but were never funded at levels to provide adequate services to all who needed them. The role of the state mental hospitals was lessened.
Resources

Biographies

  • Nancy Vance, graduate of State Hospital at Morganton School of Nursing

Histories

Newspaper Clippings

Compiled by: 
Phoebe Pollitt