1930s: Arthur and Caroline Hughes established
Fairfax Hospital in Seattle. They had been working as psychiatric
aides at Meadows Sanitarium at the south end of Boeing Field. The
Hughes decided to establish their own facility and purchased a
large frame house on Queen Anne hill in Seattle. They named this
facility Fairfax after a street on Queen Anne hill. The Hughes
gradually built their reputation for good care to the point that in
1936 they had to expand their facility to accommodate additional
patients. There were only five psychiatrists in Seattle in 1937 and
three of them utilized Fairfax for patients needing
hospitalization. In 1938, the Hughes purchased an estate on
the outskirts of Kirkland and moved their building by barge across
Lake Washington to their new location. This formed the nucleus of
the new Fairfax Sanitarium near Juanita.
1950s: The Hughes retired and the ownership and management of Fairfax Hospital, as it was now called, was taken over by their relatives, Bernard and Marian Hambleton.
1960s: By 1968, the old facilities were no longer adequate to handle the increasing patient volume and modern therapeutic procedures, so the Hambletons built a new hospital adjacent to the old one.
1970s: Community Psychiatric Centers purchased Fairfax from the Hambletons and gradually took over the administration and running of the hospital. The new owners retained and enhanced the highly skilled professional staff of the hospital. New services, including programs for children and adolescent services, were developed.
1980s: A new wing was added to Fairfax, including a gymnasium, kitchen and dining facilities, a therapeutic activities room, classrooms and offices.
2000s: In 2005, a major renovation was completed up-grading furnishings and fixtures and adding acute care units.
2010s: While ownership of Fairfax Hospital has changed over the years, the tradition of providing the best possible psychiatric care for our community continues. 2010 marked our 80th anniversary of continuous operation. Today, Fairfax is the largest private inpatient psychiatric hospital in Washington State and the only private psychiatric hospital in Western Washington with treatment programs for children, adolescents and adults.
