Pull up an Adirondack Chair, and relax a little

June 2004

State Hospital patients take pride in quality of the Adirondack furniture they make.

It started almost by accident — sort of like the accidental discoveries of Post-it notes, artificial sweetener or bubblegum, albeit on a far different scale. Oregon State Hospital’s vocational instructors never thought they were starting years of Adirondack-furniture manufacture in 1990 when they agreed to replace a hospital chair that had fallen apart. But a therapist at the hospital liked the product, wanted to buy one, and hospital officials decided to try letting patients build them for sale to the public. Marketed solely by fliers and word of mouth, the pine Adirondack furniture manufactured by maximum-security patients at the State Hospital is part of their therapy. (Ordering information at end of story.) A bridge to therapy John Keogh, the hospital’s Forensic Evaluation and Treatment Services program director, says he’s seen patients who wouldn’t engage in treatment want to go to work. "The work world has become a bridge to other therapeutic benefits," he says.

"The activities of sanding and painting are relaxing, calming activities," adds Barb Adams, the hospital’s vocational services director. "It’s really good that these guys have a productive activity." The activity produces chairs, children’s chairs, ottomans, loveseats and end tables, all in a traditional Adirondack style. Patients can earn up to the state minimum wage of $7.05 an hour. "The opportunity to earn an income promotes independence," says Greg Pearson, a certified occupational therapy assistant who joined the hospital shortly after the furniture program began. "It allows them to buy clothing, get a gift for a loved one or send money home to their families."

Barb Adams and Greg Pearson discuss work patients are doing

Therapeutic benefits accrue Among the therapeutic goals for patients are improved concentration and attention span, ability to take direction, workmanship, attendance and productivity, self-control and tolerance for frustration, attire and grooming. Pearson says furniture manufacture is also good because many patients have had positive experiences working with wood, errors with wood can often be corrected without sacrificing quality, and patients can work at a level that fits their skill. Pearson and Adams have seen a variety of purchasers, such as legislators, homeowners furnishing their patios and decks, a landlord buying for rental property, hospital employees, and people buying items for charity auctions. A newspaper feature story a decade ago created so much demand that the program built up a two-year backlog of orders.

'Quality over quantity'

Pearson says production by the two one-hour daily shifts varies, but perhaps averages two to four pieces a week. "We have a motto — quality over quantity," he says.

Pearson adds, "Self-esteem is a hard thing to measure, but patients comment that they like building a product that people want to buy and that people like."

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Learn more

To see samples of the furniture or to order, contact Greg Pearson at (503) 945-9256 at Oregon State Hospital. Prices are chair, $70; child’s chair, $40; table, $45; love seat, $105; and ottoman, $25. Furniture is primed and painted with white latex, although customers may order other colors if they provide the latex paint.

— Jim Sellers, DHS Office of Public Affairs, (503) 945-5738; email jim.sellers@state.or.us

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