She endured 10 days inside a psychiatric hospital
Bly convinced authorities that she was mentally ill so she could go undercover to investigate conditions inside a New York City psychiatric hospital, then known as an 'insane asylum'.Abusive staff members were fired, translators were hired to assist immigrant patients, and changes were made to the system to help prevent those who did not actually suffer from mental illness from being committedBly even shocked to discover that many of the inmates were not insane at all and their treatments gave them a psychological damage 
Bly's articles were published and Her reporting not only raised awareness about mental health treatment and led to improvements in institutional conditions by increasing funding for mental institutions adding nearly $1 million ($24 million in today's money) to the departmental budget.They were forced to sit still on benches, without speaking or moving, for stints lasting 12 hours or more.Patients were forced to take cold baths and remain in wet clothes for hours, leading to frequent illnesses.