warning: don 't read this if you are about to eat or drink something, lol
In the old days, these types of facilities were devoted to more than just hemorrhoids and colon cancer. It was believed that proper irrigation, regular rectal "cleansing out" and expurgation, as well as minute analysis of the various characteristics of the excretions over a period of time could provide valuable clues to a much larger variety of health and psychological benefits, and might cure a very large variety and repertory of diseases. Often these types of institutions also provided inhouse dietary supervision over a period of days and weeks to supposedly correct whatever deficiencies were uncovered during analysis, diagnosis, and treatment. Time spent in such "cleansing" circumstances was often promoted and interpreted as a bit of a "holiday", retreat, or vacation... Sorry to be a bit graphic here, lol
Even as recently as a decade ago, the prominence of the Ferguson Center facilities which used to be located just accross from today's Urban Institute (the former Ferguson doctors are now merged with Spectrum on East Paris), bespeaks some of this strange rectal heritage, as they were sort of THE "rectal" and later THE colonoscopy destination for the entire Western part of the state.
They even had their own brand of hemorrhoid creme, the "Ferguson" brand, which I understand had quite a local following...