Institutional
History
The
New Jersey Neuro-Psychiatric Institute in Montgomery Township, Somerset
County, had its origins in the State Village for Epileptics, which
was established on the site in 1898 for the care and treatment of
children and adults with epilepsy (P.L. 1898, chap. 113, p.185).
In light of advances in the treatment of epilepsy during the 1940s
and 1950s, the State Board of Control determined in 1952 that a
facility exclusively for epileptics was no longer necessary. In
September of that year, the Board appointed Dr. Robert S. Garber
as superintendent of the Village to redirect its purposes.
In 1953, the New Jersey Legislature formally abolished the State
Village and replaced it with the New Jersey Neuro-Psychiatric Institute.
The latter agency's stated purpose was to "study the causes
and to contribute to the knowledge of the control, prevention and
the cure of neuropsychiatric disorders" and to provide care
and treatment for individuals "suffering from diseases and
disfunction of the brain and nervous system, including acute alcoholics,
drug addicts, cerebral palsy cases and juvenile psychotics who require
hospital care" (P.L. 1953, chap. 122, p. 1307). The Institute
took over the Village's lands and facilities, and those serving
on the Village Board of Managers continued as members of the Institute's
board until their terms expired. Under Dr. Garber's guidance, sixty
percent of the Village's epileptic patients were re-evaluated and
either sent back into their communities or transferred to other
state facilities. The resulting patient space could then be used
for the treatments described in the Institute's establishing legislation.
Among the programs developed at the Institute were: a facility to
care for emotionally disturbed and psychotic children; an in-patient
treatment center for male alcoholics (which also provided statewide
aid to out-patient facilities run by the New Jersey Department of
Heath); and a regional Mental Health Center to provide in-patient
and out-patient psychiatric services to residents of Somerset County.
The Institute also continued treating epileptics through the New
Jersey Consultation Service for Convulsive Disorders, which ran
clinics for epileptics throughout the state and provided residential
services for those with severe cases of the disease.
Further, as the establishing legislation directed, the Institute
served as a center for research and training. Its Research Bureau
conducted studies in experimental psychology, neuro-endocrinology,
neuropsychology and neuropharmacology. Graduate and postgraduate
study of neuropsychiatry was provided through various residency
training programs. These included a 3-year psychiatric residency
training program and a 4-year program covering general and child
psychiatry.
On 1 July 1983, the Institute was renamed the North Princeton Developmental
Center. Today (1994) the Center treats patients with developmental
disabilities, neurological disorders, and cerebral palsy.
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