Rusk State Hospital

Rusk State Hospital (RSH) is located on property owned by the State of Texas since 1877. Construction was completed in 1878 on a 576-foot long, three-story penitentiary. It is now the hospital's administration building. During the early years the prisoners assisted in construction of the Texas State Railroad from Rusk to Palestine. The railroad was the only state-owned railroad until 2007 when it was privatized, and it is a current tourist attraction. The prisoners also built the Old Alcalde, an iron ore smelting furnace adjacent to the main building. The furnace's iron and iron products were used in many Texas state buildings and throughout the United States. When the prison closed in 1917, the Texas legislature authorized and appropriated funds for its conversion to a mental hospital. On June 11, 1919, the hospital received its first patient. The facility was named Rusk State Hospital by the legislature in 1925. The Skyview Maximum Security Unit for mentally ill offenders from throughout Texas was established in 1953 and was transferred to Vernon State Hospital in 1988. In June 2012, the hospital opened a new maximum security unit. Now under the supervision of the Texas Department of State Health Services, Rusk State Hospital is one of the nine state hospitals sharing the responsibility of conserving the mental health of Texas citizens and helping persons with intellectual disabilities achieve their maximum potential.

On November 14,2013 I did my clinical rotation at Rusk State Hospital. It was a two hour drive and some of us car pooled together. I was a little scared because I did not know what to expect. The ride helped me calm down a little so it was not so bad. When I first got there I was ok until I enter the Angelina building. One of the patient was arguing with the nurse. She was very loud. That did not help me at all. Four of us was left in Angelina one and four went to Angelina two. That was the best part of all, not being by our self. The staff was very professional and very protective of us. They informed of each and what to watch for. They inlightened us each patient we talked to. All of them were very alert of their surroundings.

On Angelina two most of the patient were gone to class. Very few was there to talk to, so we went to Angelina three. Oh my goodness. That was a different story. I was scared to death. It was a all men department. Some of them were very loud. One of them was one-on-one. This mean they was a threat to themself and to other. He would not be still. Just moving from one place to the other. Walking the worker to dearh. I found myself steady looking over my shoulder or out the corner of my eyes.

One patient was talking to us and he seem so normal. He was talking with since. After about ten minute into the conversation, I realized something just was not right with him. It was really sad because he was very intelligent. Very smart. He talked about