500,000 people were locked in state psychiatric hospitals. Their descendants can’t find out why
Many descendants of individuals who were confined in state psychiatric hospitals are struggling to access their ancestors' medical records. This lack of access is often due to strict privacy laws that can keep records sealed for decades or even indefinitely. Advocacy efforts are underway in various states to reform these laws and allow families to better understand their medical history.
- ▪Breta Meria Conole spent over two decades in a state psychiatric hospital, leaving her family with unanswered questions about her mental health.
- ▪Family members have faced challenges in obtaining medical records, with some states beginning to reform access policies while others remain restrictive.
- ▪Federal privacy laws, such as HIPAA, protect patient information for 50 years after death, complicating access to historical records.
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| Original publisher | Fortune |
| Canonical URL | https://fortune.com/2026/05/24/psychiatric-hospital-records-sealed-descendants-states/ |
| Publication time | Sun, 24 May 2026 15:00:04 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-24T15:17:33.277Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Breta Meria Conole was in a state psychiatric hospital for more than two decades. But the reason why is a family mystery.Recommended Video Debby Hannigan, her great grandniece, tried for years to access Conole’s medical records, because she thought they might hold clues to mental health issues in her family, including her oldest daughter’s depression. Hannigan twice wrote to the state of New York for the records. The second time she included a supporting note from her daughter’s therapist, who said the details would help “to know their family medical history better.” Both times she was turned away. Her experience is hardly unique.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Fortune.
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