Atascadero State Hospital

Atascadero State Hospital
Geography
Location	Atascadero, California, United States
Organization
Care system	Psychiatric ward
Hospital type	Forensic psychiatry
Services
Emergency department	None
Beds	1239
History
Founded	1954
Links
Website	Official website
Lists	Hospitals in California

Atascadero State Hospital (ASH) is located on the Central Coast of California, in San Luis Obispo County, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is an all-male, maximum-security facility, that houses mentally ill convicts who have been committed to psychiatric facilities by California's courts. Located in the city of Atascadero, California, it is the largest employer in that town.

ASH opened in 1954, as a state-run, self-contained public sector forensic psychiatric facility. It is enclosed within a security perimeter, and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Patients are referred to the hospital by the Superior Court, Board of Prison Terms, or the Department of Corrections.

Its treatment programs have reflected the psychiatric assumptions of the times. Initially constructed to treat mentally disordered sex offenders (MDSOs), initial programs focused on separation from society, albeit in an environment which provided freedom of movement. This was restricted after patient escapes. Initial research and treatment programs aimed at understanding and reducing the risk of reoffense in sexual offenders. In the early 1980s, the focus of the hospital's treatment programs shifted to patients found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) and incompetent to stand trial; ASH was a pioneer in developing effective treatment programs for the latter. In the 1990s, California passed sexually violent predator (SVP) laws, imposing civil commitment upon prisoners meeting criteria upon the expiration of their determinate prison term. SVPs were housed in ASH until the new state hospital in Coalinga opened around 2004.

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