| East Mississippi State Hospital | |
|---|---|
 East Mississippi State Hospital in the early 1900s | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Meridian, Mississippi, United States |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Lists | Hospitals in Mississippi |
TheEast Mississippi State Hospital (EMSH) is a mental health facility of theMississippi Department of Mental Health located inMeridian,Mississippi.[1][2][3] The facility is the third-largest employer in the Meridian area.[4]
A regional center, EMSH serves 31 counties, includingAlcorn,Covington,Choctaw,Clarke,Clay,Forrest,George,Greene,Jackson,Jasper,Jefferson Davis,Jones,Kemper,Lamar,Lauderdale County,Leake,Lowndes,Marion,Neshoba,Newton,Noxubee,Oktibbeha,Perry,Prentiss,Scott,Smith,Tippah,Tishomingo,Wayne,Webster, andWinston.[5]
Due to advocacy fromDorothea Dix, on March 8, 1882, theMississippi State Legislature passed legislation establishing the East Mississippi State Insane Asylum.[6] The hospital opened in a location 2 miles (3.2 km) west ofMeridian in 1885.[7] In 1898 the facility's name was changed to the East Mississippi Insane Hospital. In the 1930s the facility received its current name.[6] In 1984 the MDMH Board of Mental Health established a catchment area to EMSH so that admissions to EMSH and theMississippi State Hospital would be balanced. As of 2010 the 31 county catchment area for EMSH has a population of about 900,000 people.[8]
32°22′35.76″N88°43′20.64″W / 32.3766000°N 88.7224000°W /32.3766000; -88.7224000
