Medical Pioneer. Social Activist. He was trained as a surgeon at the Pennsylvania Hospital, but became the superintendent of the Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane. As he worked with the "insane," his sense of morality brought him to change attitudes towards, and treatment of, the mentally ill. Before Kirkbride, the mentally ill were simply imprisoned in overcrowded prisons for what was effectively a life sentence. There was no concern about helping the patients; they were simply warehoused until they died. Kirkbride revolutionized the design and operation of many American mental asylums built during the second half of the 19th century. He saw the asylum as a place of structured activity, allowing patients to grow emotionally. He also saw it as a place to address the causes of illness and to provide therapeutic and medical treatment. He was the first to call for the separation of patients according to sex. Kirkbride also sought to separate patients according symptoms of illness and degree of violence. His many windowed buildings provided fresh air and daylight for the patients. Landscaped parks allowed them to enjoy nature, fresh air, and exercise. Patients contributed to asylum society by maintaining the grounds and performing other jobs in the asylum. Kirkbride's plan was to provide a peaceful environment for patients to develop a sense of self-worth and social skills. Dorothea Dix supported Kirkbride's plan in state legislatures. In 1844 Kirkbride called a meeting of the the heads of 13 major asylums to discuss common concerns. That group was the beginning of what would become the American Psychiatric Association. While Kirkbride's plan may not have "cured" the "insane," it began to change attitudes towards, and to provide humane treatment for, the mentally ill. Unfortunately decreased funding would corrupt Kirkbride's humane plan and vision; the "Kirkbride Plan" asylums in the 20th century would become the overcrowded human warehouses that the prisons had been.