Dickinson Center, Inc. opened its doors in
1958 as the Ridgway Area Psychiatric Center becoming
the first rural outpatient psychiatric facility in
Pennsylvania. Originally, the "Center" had a single
purpose of outpatient clinical assessment and
treatment of psychiatric disorders, but over the
past 50 years has greatly expanded the number of
programs and services it offers covering the areas
of Elk, Cameron, Potter and McKean counties. Today,
the Center is a complex organization of more than
two dozen units and licensed programs, focusing on
children's prevention and services to individuals
with mental health, as well as intellectual disablilities.
The original Ridgway Area Psychiatric Center was
renamed Dickinson Mental Health Center in 1982, by
the Board of Governors, then renamed to Dickinson
Center, Inc. in 2011, in honor and memory of its
late founder, Dr. Robert J. Dickinson.