Showing 21 - 25 of 25 Records
Department of Health and Human Services
- The State Board of Health was formed in 1885. The name was changed to the Department of Health in 1917, and by 1931 the new Department of Health and Welfare was organized. Effective July 1, 2004, the Governor and the Legislature created the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) by combining and reorganizing the former Department of Human Services (DHS) and the former Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services (BDS). The organizational framework for the new department was established the following year by Public Law 2005, Ch. 412.
Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI)
- The Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI) began in 1840 as the Maine Insane Hospital. Mental health advocate Dorothea Dix was a consultant on the project, believing fresh air and removal from the stresses of society were important for patient care. Tragically, 27 patients died when the hospital caught fire on December 4, 1850. The hospital was later known as the Augusta Insane Asylum. The name changed again in 1913 to the Augusta State Hospital, and in 1973 to the Augusta Mental Health Institute. AMHI closed in 2004, replaced by Riverview Psychiatric Center on the same campus.