CEO MESSAGE

 

Welcome to the Kirkbride Center

Located in University City, Philadelphia, Pa., Kirkbride Center resides at the Blackwell Human Services Campus at 49^th and Market Street. The 21 acre Campus comprised of 400,000 square feet with three major buildings spanning 1840 to 1956 is home to numerous social service agencies. The Campus was renamed in September, 2003 to recognize the Blackwell family prominent in West Philadelphia for their dedication to community service and the indigent in West Philadelphia. Their dedication symbolizes the mission of Kirkbride Center specifically as well as the other significant tenants on the site.

Kirkbride Center as an institution was established in the 1800’s as Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane to provide humane treatment for some of society’s most disenfranchised individuals, the mentally ill. Later it became known as the Institute of Pennsylvania. In 1997 it was sold to CoreCare Systems, Inc. and renamed, Kirkbride Center in honor of Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride. Dr. Kirkbride designed the original 1840 building and as its Administrator/Medical Director became renown in championing milieu therapy. Although much has changed since its founding, the institution has never strayed from its desire to provide compassionate care to people who are struggling with mental illness. Today, we provide care to people who are struggling with depression, schizophrenia or dependency on street drugs.

To be sure, the new generation of psychotropic medications and new understandings of how maladaptive behaviors can be corrected has gone a long way toward improving outcomes. Kirkbride has redesigned their services over time to effect a length of stay that is effective and compatible with most Managed Care Organizations. We strive to offer a continuum of levels of care in both hospital and non-hospital settings to effect a smooth progression of care for both patient and insurer. While the heart of our services focus on dually diagnosed patients with both psychiatric and addictive disorders, we also provide discrete programs in general psychiatry, gero psychiatry and residential adolescent treatment. Our adolescent program, the Blackwell Center for Adolescent Treatment (formerly known as the Westmeade Center) provides services for adolescents between the age of 13 and 16 years. It too shares the Kirkbride mission serving both adjudicated and non-adjudicated adolescents with on-site schooling.

We invite you to scroll through our web site to see the services offered at Kirkbride and its affiliates. We also have included a section on "Beating the Blues" and invite everyone to read the section.

Thomas T. Fleming

Chief Executive Officer

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