Fulton State Hospital is located in Fulton, Missouri, a community of about 11,000 people located in central Missouri. A number of other State facilities are located in Fulton, including the Missouri School for the Deaf, and the State Reception and Diagnostic Center. The size of these facilities makes the State of Missouri the largest employer in the city of Fulton.
In addition, Fulton is home to Westminster College (the site of Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946) and William Woods University. Both are private institutions with a combined enrollment of about 2100 students. Their presence in Fulton affords the community a variety of educational, athletic, and cultural events, including the Westminster College speaker series that has in recent years included George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, and Lech Walesa.
Fulton's website can be accessed at: http://fultonmo.org/
St. Louis & Kansas City, Missouri
Fulton is approximately 100 miles west of St. Louis, and 150 miles east of Kansas City. Both cities are within easy driving distance to take advantage of a variety of cultural opportunities and recreational events, including concerts, theater and dance productions, professional athletic events, world-class art museums, botanical gardens, and zoological parks. Up to date information on happenings in these cities can be found at the following websites: http://stlouis.missouri.org/ and http://www.visitkc.com/.
Jefferson City, Missouri
"Jeff City", as it is called locally, is located 25 miles to the southwest of Fulton, and makes for an easy commute for many of the hospital's staff. It is the State Capitol, as well as the home of Lincoln University, a public university with an enrollment of about 3400 graduate and undergraduate students. Nursing students from Lincoln routinely spend a few weeks each year engaged in practica at Fulton State Hospital. Jefferson City's Chamber of Commerce website is located at: http://www.jcchamber.org/
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, located 30 miles northwest from Fulton, is Mid-Missouri's largest city. It has a population of 80,000 residents, not including the approximately 23,000 students who attend the University of Missouri's main campus there. The Psychology Department at FSH has strong ties to both the Clinical and the Counseling Psychology Departments at the University, as well as to the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine. A number of our research projects are done in collaboration with individuals from these departments.
Many of FSH's professional staff live in Columbia, which offers a variety of unique shops, quality restaurants, cultural events, and recreational opportunities. Columbia is very much a "college town", with influences from not only the University of Missouri, but from Columbia College and Stephens College as well. More information about Columbia can be found at http://www.columbiamochamber.com/.
Other Information
Be sure to also check out http://www.mostateparks.com/ for information on Missouri's State Park system, including parks in and around Columbia and mid-Missouri. For a broader perspective on what the State of Missouri has to offer, refer to http://www.visitmo.com/.