[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN RESTORATION 
                                 CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TODD RUSSELL PLATTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 1, 2001

  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 100th 
Anniversary of the South Mountain Restoration Center in South Mountain, 
Pennsylvania, and to pay tribute to a century of service provided to 
the people of south central Pennsylvania.
  Nestled in the heart of Pennsylvania's Blue Bridge Mountains and 
straddling the Adams and Franklin County lines, the South Mountain 
Restoration Center was established at the turn of the 20th Century as a 
hospital dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis. The devoted 
medical staff at the Dr. Samuel G. Dixon Tuberculosis Hospital, as it 
was known until the mid-1960s, have cared for tuberculosis patients, 
World War I soldiers who were victims of poison gas, and the mentally 
ill.
  The tuberculosis epidemic in the United States necessitated the 
state-of-the-art medical care that the hospital provided. At the peak 
from 1938 through 1940, there were over 1,200 TB patients residing in 
the hospital on any given day. Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, 
the only treatments for tuberculosis were fresh air, sunshine, and 
exercise--three things the hospital provided in abundance.
  The 300 acres of land also housed a children's hospital or 
``preventorim.'' Established in 1938, the ``preventorim'' sought to 
prevent the full-blown development of tuberculosis in children who had 
been exposed to the disease by their families. Many of these children 
came to the hospital underweight and malnourished, increasing their 
chances of contracting tuberculosis. By removing them from environments 
in which tuberculosis was prevalent, and providing them with nutritious 
food, fresh air, and excellent care, these children were spared the 
devastating effects of this terrible disease.
  After the introduction of antibiotics in the 1950s, TB was largely 
eradicated in this country. In 1968, The Dr. Samuel G. Dixon 
Tuberculosis Hospital was renamed the South Mountain Restoration 
Center. Since that time, it has provided nursing home-care to the 
mentally ill. It is called a ``restoration center'' because of the 
facilities' dedication to a philosophy of rehabilitating individuals 
before they rejoin the community.
  Today, the South Mountain Restoration Center serves as a long-term 
care facility for almost 200 mentally ill patients and shares its 
extensive grounds with a residential training program for young first-
time offenders.
  Saturday, May 12, 2001 will mark the centennial of the South Mountain 
Restoration Center. I know that the tradition of excellence in care 
that has been established over the last 100 years will continue well 
into the 21st Century. As we celebrate this momentous occasion, I would 
like take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the men 
and women through out the Center's history who have selflessly 
dedicated their lives to caring for those in need.

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