History of Schick Shadel Hospital

Charles A. Shadel was a pioneer in the field of treating alcoholism. He developed and instituted the Aversion Therapy Treatment currently used for drug and alcohol addiction. In 1935, Dr. Shadel provided a colonial mansion in Seattle, offering the warm and personal comforts of home to those who were then considered society’s outcasts - the alcoholics.

Shadel believed that the only thing wrong with alcoholics was alcohol. His philosophy was that the body, not the mind, was dysfunctioning. He felt that alcoholism was a drug addiction, and that therapy should include every effective resource. Dr. Shadel and Dr. Walter Voegtlin, a Seattle gastroenterologist, developed and tested a safe and effective formula to effect chemical aversion to alcohol.

The work of Shadel Hospital in Seattle continued quietly and effectively until 1964, when then-chairman and CEO of the Schick Safety Razor Company, Patrick J. Frawley, Jr., checked in to face his addiction to alcohol.

After the first day of the program, Frawley felt immediate relief from the compulsion to drink. Months later, he was astonished to find that he still didn’t desire for any of his favorite drinks.

In 1965, Schick Safety Razor Company formed Schick Laboratories, Inc., with Mr. Frawley as chairman. This new company purchased the Shadel Hospital and $6 million was invested in researching habit formation.

The research, under the direction of Schick Shadel Hospitals’ chief of staff James W. Smith, M.D., resulted in a program for nicotine addiction. Programs for cocaine, marijuana and other dependencies have been developed more recently by the Schick Shadel doctors, based on the Counter Conditioning pioneered by Shadel.

Schick Laboratories, Inc. separated from Schick Safety Razor Company and owned Schick Shadel Hospital in Seattle, Washington, until 2002. It was at this time a group of former patients, led by Dallas businessman Jim Graham, formed Duffy 1, L.P. to buy the hospital.