About DMHC

     Until the Ridgway Area Psychiatric Center opened its doors in 1958 under the direction and leadership of its founder, Dr. Robert J. Dickinson, there was virtually no outpatient psychiatric care available in rural Pennsylvania. Originally the "Center" had a single purpose of outpatient clinical assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders. While the Center has reduced its primary service area from six counties originally to primarily two (Elk and Cameron) with some programmatic extensions to McKean County, it has greatly expanded the number of programs offered. Today the Center has grown from a single service program to a complex administrative organization of more than two dozen units and licensed programs, serving those individuals with mental health as well as mental retardation related needs.

        The Center was renamed from the original Ridgway Area Psychiatric Center to Dickinson Mental Health Center in 1982, by the Board of Governors, in honor and memory of its founder, Dr. Robert J. Dickinson.

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Last modified: November 14, 2007