Milford chronicle., 1963-05-17
Your Hospital
(by your hospital reporter,

When you think Of your Hos
pital, do you think of Milford
Memorial? Stock1ey, the State
Hospital for Mentally Retarded
Children Is also Your Hospital.
Il Is part of De1aware's effort
to cope with the mounting prob
lem Of mental retardation.
There are several reasons why
the problem Of mental retarda-
tion Is greater today. One of them
Is simply that today we try to
provide medical treatment, ed
ucation, and recreation for our
retarded children; In earlier
years the same children would
have been hidden, ignored, or
neglected. Another reason is that
increased medical knowledge, J,
better equipped hospitals and
more skillful nursing care ara
helping US to save many retarded
children who, inpast years, would
have died as infants.
About 8 out Of every 100 chill
dren born are mentally retarded.
In any specific area, this means
that a large number Of children
will need specialized medical
care, specialized treatments, and
specialized educational provis-
ions. Today, Delaware has IA ,000
children requiring such help.
Stockley has about 600 children
In residence. Junior and Senior
Nursing Students and the Faculty
at Milford attended an Open HOUSE
there on May 8. We were impress
sed by the general aura Of hope
which surrounded each unit Of the
Hospital. The optimism of the
nursing staff, the educators, and
the attendants was contagious.
Evidences of rehabilitative ef-
forts were present at every hand.
Children were being helped to use
all their abilities. There were
many beautiful woodworking ar
ticles on display: bird houses,
commodes, chests, tables,
candlesticks, bookends, book
cases, and an elegant room
divider in polished wood. The
children were working also In
ceramics and rug weaving. We
were sorry that none Of the ar
ticles were for sale and wonder
ed why the children could not
sell the items, using the profit
for purchasing new materials.
Open House began with coffee
In the auditorium of the new Med
ical Center. There the Director
of Nurses, Mrs. Joanne McCabe
welcomed us and we listened tC
some very Informative talks by
some of the Nur sing Staff. Mrs,
Lewis spoke beiefly on the SUBJ
iect Of Mental Retar dation, touch
ing on its causes and popular
misconceptions about mental de-
ficiency. Mrs. Thoroughbred out
lined the facilities for the re-
tarded In Delaware and spoke or
the role of the nurse In working
with the retarded. Mrs. PuSey
gave us the history of the Hos
pital at Stock1ey and Mrs. Ben
nett described the PHILOSOPHERS
and detectives of Nursing Serv-
ice at the institution.
Following the Welcome adj
dresses we toured the Medical
Center. This is a very new ano
modern building with Offices for
psychologists; social workers;
recreational, occupational anc
physical therapists; large audi
torium; and lounges both comfor-
table and colorfll.
At the educational Building, we
were shown the claSSrooms and
learned much about the diff
ferences involved In teaching
mentally handicapped young
sters. The Day Care Center Is a
new idea. Here children who live
at home come In for daily In
struction geared to each chi1d's
individual needs.
After lunch, our group was
taken to several Of the cottages
housing children. We thought the
most interesting part of this tour
was seeing the children practic-
ing for the circus they were to
have on Parents Day. There were
lions, elephants, chickens, and
clowns, all enjoying playing their
parts.
Our visit ended in the auditor
ium with colored slides Of the
Hospital and grounds.
On the way back to Milford,
some Of the students remarked
that they thought It would be
helpful to every citizen to tour
Stockley and see what His Hos
pital was really like. This Is
possible. Before we left, we were
informed that Stockley will ar
range a tour for any interested
civic group. Get in touch with
Stockley If you are interested,
and Pm sure you are for as a
Delawarean, this is your Hos
pital.