DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

 

. BETHESDA 14, MD,

 

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

April 8, 1957

Dear Mr. Fogarty:

This will acknowledge your letter of March 28, 1957,
enclosing a copy of a letter you received from Buell W. Hudson,
Publisher of the Woonsocket Call, Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

The most appropriate source of funds for the types of
project which Mr. Hudson and the Woonsocket Public Health
Nursing Association have in mind is our Mental Health Project
Grants program. I am enclosing two copies of the announcement
of this program for Mr. Hudson.

Of course it is not necessary for the Public Health
Nursing Association to collaborate with a hospital such as
Butler in order to obtain a grant. They probably would be
able to design a better project, however, by collaborating
with such an institution where there are staff people exper-
ienced in developing research studies. Dr. Robert Hyde, the
new Superintendent of Butler Hospital, has visited this Insti-
tute to discuss his plans for Butler Hospital and also to
discuss how he might participate in the Mental Health Project
Grants program. It is pleasing to us that Dr. Hyde is planning
to develop the hospital as a commmity resource and to operate
as much as possible in collaboration with existing community
agencies, both public and private. He plans to put many new
ideas into practice and to experiment with new ways in treat-
ment and rehabilitation. Collaboration with his program could
be very fruitful for any other agency interested in mental
health.

Tt is desirable to strengthen the official program of
the States wherever possible, so it is hoped that the Mental
Health Project Grants program will stimulate the statewide
development of mental health programs. This will happen if
projects are planned which integrate with already existing
State programs. Therefore, it might be well to suggest that

National Cancer Institute National Heart Institute National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases
National Institute of Dental Research National Institute of Mental Health National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness The Clinical Center

Division of Biological Standards Division of Business Operations Division of Research Grants Division of Research Services
om 2 ow

the Public Health Nursing Association in Woonsocket talk to the
State Mental Health Authority -- Mr. Edward P. Reidy, Director,
State Department of Social Welfare, Providence, Rhode Island -- in
addition to Dr. Hyde and so become aware of both the official State
program and the Butler Hospital program. There may be undeveloped
areas in both the State program and in the Butler Hospital program
which could be developed by means of a project. <A project in
after care and follow-up of mental patients discharged from the

hospital would be an appropriate one for a Public Health Nursing
group.

Sincerely yours,

po

   

R. He Felix, M.D.
Director
National Institute of Mental Health

  

Hon. John &. Fogarty
House of Representatives

Enclosures
Department of HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE - Public Health Service
National Institutes of Health + Bethesda 14, Md.

November 1956
SPECIAL. ANNOUNCEMENT

MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT GRANTS PROGRAM

‘Under a recent amendment to the Public Health Service Act, the Surgeon General of
the Public Health Service, upon the recommendation of the National Advisory Mental
Health Council, may award grants for special mental health projects. The purpose of the
Mental Health Project Grants is to support the development of improved methods relating
to the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of the mentally ill, including the development
and establishment of improved methods of operation and administration of State mental

institutions,

Grants may be made to State or local agencies, both public and private, institutions,
laboratories, and individuals for such investigations, experiments, demonstrations,
studies, and research projects as are relevant to the purpose of the legislation.

The scope of the program is broad. {t is not confined to intrahospital studies but
includes such extrahospital developments as alternatives to hospitalization and. after-
care programs. Areas in which projects may fall include all age groups of the mentally
ill and the field of mental retardation.

Projects may involve:
a. Developing improved methods of care, treatment, and rehabilitation of the
mentally ill.

b. Testing applicability of methods on a hospital and community basis.

c. Demonstrating the feasibility of, and thereby encouraging the adoption of, new

methods.

d. Developing and establishing improved administrative techniques and practices.

Projects should be so designed that they may be described and reported and be of
such a nature that the findings will be of significance to others working in the field.

How to Apply

All requests for support must be submitted on special application forms which may
be obtained upon request from the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda 14,

Maryland.
Applications should be submitted by March 1, July 1, or November 1, for review by

the Council in the following June, November, or February.

Other Information

in order to activate the program as rapidly as possible, applications received by
January 1, 1957, will be submitted to the February meeting of the Council. We look
forward to Congressional action making funds available for this purpose.

The grants awarded under this program shall be known as MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT
GRANTS.