Jean-Baptiste Pussin
1746–1811
Jean-Baptiste Pussin was a superintendent at Bicetre Hospital in France. He, along with his wife and colleague Marguerite, promoted and instituted humane treatment of patients with mental disorders.
When Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) took over the administration of the Bicetre in 1793 he worked with Pussin to institute more hospital reform, including banning the use of chains for restraining paitents.
Years later, in 1802, when Pinel was assigned to the Salpêtrière Hospital, he hired Pussin to be his special assistant and the two instituted humane practices there, much as they had done at Bicetre.