easy child is interviewing at the hospital where John Hinkley lives ...

[TerryJ2]

Very cool! She looked up the history of St. Elizabeth's before she left this morning. I think it started as a psychiatric hospital, then when the Civil War happened, they opened it to the wounded. Then as the Nat'l Zoo was being constructed, some of the animals lived there!
Right now it's under construction. It's very old, as you can imagine, and in dire need of refurbishing. It's not in a good neighborhood and I do worry about easy child there. I'm hoping that if she gets the internship (students at Geo Wash Univ are required to work/volunteer in their fields) that she at least learns to wear flat shoes and not carry a purse.
I can't wait for her to call this afternoon and update us. :
P.S. If you are very young, you may not remember that Hinkley was the one who shot Pres. Reagan.

 

[DDD]

I hope it goes well for her. Obviously I am more than old enough to remember the Hinkley family. My heart went out to the parents as they had evidently tried everything to get help for their difficult child. Finally, their final psychiatrist told them "let him go and make his own choices". Even with great wealth they were not able to "save" John from his MH issues. So sad. DDD

 

[Hound dog]

I wish her all the luck. Sort of a cool thing to get to do.

Some of those so called "rough" neighborhoods can be some great places to live. You just never know.

 

[TerryJ2]

Well, she just called. She's stuck in traffic. No surprise there!
She spent three hrs at the hospital. She said it's very tight security, with-several sets of double doors. Most of the people there are there for life, as compared to Geo Wash Univ hospital, where people generally stay for 10 days, during which time you rush to diagnosis and then get them out the door.
She had some very interesting stories to tell me, and met quite a few employees and interns and residents (she said they have quite a few schizophrenics, and the saddest cases are geriatric, because they have dementia on top if it all, so they can't do any cognitive therapy and they are just plain scared all the time ). The supervisor told her that she would not be allowed in the forensic section (the criminally insane) as a student, which is fine by easy child. (And me, too!)
She thinks that the history would make a great story, either fiction or nonfiction, and I agree. Especially since there were animals there while the zoo was being built. Oh, she said that there were lots of cats there at the door ... she wasn't sure if they were feral, but she did say they have a pet therapy program.
I found a video on YouTube with-the history so we'll watch it this week.
She probably won't be home until midnight so I'm going to bed.