Irish Quakers celebrate Bloomfield anniversary
Two hundred year anniversary marked
Quakers in Ireland have just marked two hundred years of pioneering healthcare. The anniversary celebration was held at Bloomfield Care Centre in Rathfarnham, Dublin, a specialist centre for the treatment of the mentally ill and elderly.
Since its foundation by members of the Religious Society of Friends in 1812 Bloomfield has sought to provide person-centric mental health and nursing home care to elderly people and those with dementia.
The Bloomfield site, at Stocking Lane in Rathfarnham, is also the administrative base for Ireland Yearly Meeting and hosts the main library for Irish Quakers. Bloomfield moved to the purpose-built facility in Stocking Lane, on the outskirts of Dublin, in 2005, after many years at a more central location in Donnybrook.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Michael Gill, professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin. He gave a talk on ‘Mental Health and Genetics’. Then a new book, Bloomfield: A History 1812 – 2012: Providing care for 200 years, by Glynn Douglas, Rob Goodbody, Alice Mauger and John Davey was launched.
The aim of Bloomfield, when it was established, was to bring about a seminal change in the nature of care from restraint to ‘moral treatment’ and the Society proved to be pioneering in Ireland in its care and treatment of both the elderly and mentally ill.
Kathleen Lynch TD, minister for Disability, Older People, Equality and Mental Health, sent a message of congratulations to Bloomfield on its two hundredth anniversary in which she recognised the commitment and dedication of the centre to people with mental health problems and older people.
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