WRCH has two AA meetings sponsored by WAI's Joint Treatment Committee: one for people court-ordered for evaluation, the other meeting is for people in the residential care unit.

The following article gives a history of WRCH and its iconic clock tower.

The Worcester State Hospital was originally known as the Worcester State Lunatic Hospital, which was the first state-owned hospital in the country to treat mental illnesses. A new campus opened in 1877 to promote the “moral treatment” of the mentally ill, and the main administration building was anchored by the 134-foot-tall Victorian Gothic clock tower.

But a 1991 fire destroyed almost all of the hospital's original buildings and they were subsequently closed, while all psychiatric facilities operated in a newer building. In 2004, the state began work to build a new facility combining the Worcester and Westboro state hospitals.

Historic preservation advocates and others in the community tried to convince the state to repair the administration building and clock tower, noting that the original campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But the rehabilitation costs were estimated at $27 million to $29 million, and in August 2008, the state said that the project would not qualify for historic preservation credits.

Preservation Worcester and the Worcester Historical Commission eventually reached an agreement with the state in February 2012 to dismantle and reconstruct the clock tower as a monument. The Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital opened in October 2012 with 320 beds for adults and children.

© Worcester Telegram & Gazette December 10, 2015