“Peoria State Hospital? What is it? Oh, is that the haunted house at Bartonville Asylum? That place is scary!” This is what comes to mind for many people when they think of Peoria State Hospital. Peoria State Hospital, PSH, is not just a scary haunted house; it's a very important part of the story. PSH was one of the first mental health facilities of its kind. Peoria State Hospital is considered a pioneer in the treatment of mentally ill patients due to the innovative treatment methods used. The PHS has influenced mental health care not only in Illinois but also throughout the United States. This facility became terribly downtrodden in recent years due to the launch of new local facilities and programs and the deterioration of the buildings. Toward the end PSH was eerily similar to the hospitals it sought to replace. Peoria State Hospital marked a major turning point toward improving mental health care by helping people with and treating their mental illness not only in Illinois, but across the entire country (Bittersweet). Although Peoria State Hospital was a pioneer in mental health care, it was not the first hospital to try to treat patients. Mental health treatment had been ongoing for some time before PSH, but sending loved ones to one of these treatment centers was seen as a last resort. There were people in these hospitals, but most of the time the insane were cared for at home by their family, housed in almshouses (homes for the poor), or were sent to prison. In these places there were no treatments. The mental person, if violent, was tied up and/or heavily sedated. Treatments in hospitals specializing in the care of the insane were often carried out for the benefit of the staff, not the pat... middle of paper... ....symptoms of mental illness. This drug was followed by other drugs. There was also a lack of funding and the emergence of community-based programs that played a role in the closure of PSH (Bittersweet). And so the treatment at Peoria State Hospital came full circle. What started as a place to send loved ones so they could receive the best care, ended up being shut down because the care wasn't up to the standards associated with mental health care at the time. Early in the life of Peoria State Hospital its name was synonymous with some of the best mental health services in the country. Even if that ultimately wasn't true, the name Peoria State Hospital will always mean something more than that scary house in Bartonville. Peoria State Hospital is a name that is remembered as a true pioneer in the treatment of mental illnesses (Bittersweet).