Correctional Health Care Delivery

Each person confined in jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities must be afforded unimpeded access to needed health care. Such persons, without risk of interference or fear of reprisal, should be able to alert health care staff of a medical need, obtain a timely professional evaluation of that need, and receive treatment in the manner prescribed by a competent provider. Simply stated, no correctional officer should ever prevent, impede, or inhibit anyone from alerting a health care provider of a perceived need for health services, even though the officer may believe the request is trivial, fictitious, or undeserved. This book focuses on access to health care services by special populations in correctional institutions (women, youths, elderly, persons with dementia, and the terminally ill), which includes important information on privatization in corrections. The following topics are featured: the context, principles, balance and implications of correctional health care, including the recent detention of immigrants in the United States; the unimpeded access to care, enhancements, stress reductions, health literacy, culture, ethnicity, religion, intake health screening, medical clearance for transfer or release, medications and clinical appointments, emergency care services, special settings, copayments, and budgeting for health care services; privatization, contracts, evaluating bids, monitoring the contract, and minimizing adverse risks; special health concerns of incarcerated women, communicable disease, pregnancy-related concerns, aging, frailty, osteoporosis, mental health, cosmetic concerns, health education and job assignments; youth in corrections, hygiene, exercise, gender-specific needs of young women, informed consent, supervision of vulnerable youth, substance abuse treatment, and the community connection; special health needs and humane care and alternative care of the aging; the prevalence, person-centered care, elements of care, environment, restraints, visits, and the ethics of incarcerating persons with dementia. The book concludes with end-of-life care in prison, hospice, palliative care, and compassionate release. It will serve as an invaluable tool for correctional officers, health care providers, justice and legal professionals, social workers, mental health professionals, and counselors.

The long-awaited, much-anticipated third edition of Standards for Health Services in Correctional Institutions is now available. The third edition of this book defines the scope of services that are necessary to provide adequate care, basing these standards upon principles of public health and constitutional standards developed through litigation. Previous editions of this book have been extraordinarily influential in this field. The book has been cited as the standard for jail and prison health services in state and federal court decisions. The new edition includes significant changes including expansion of both the mental health section and children and adolescents section. This important book contains rigorously prepared community standards, reflecting a health environment to which any community, but particularly a jail or prison community, is entitled. It sets standards of health care that are respectful of prisoner patients and require prison and jail based health care workers to view themselves as independent health care workers first and foremost. The new edition of this book is easy to use and has the most comprehensive and inclusive set of standards for health services in correctional institutions. It is an essential reference for anyone working or teaching in any capacity in the field of corrections.

Over the past four decades, the rate of incarceration in the United States has skyrocketed to unprecedented heights, both historically and in comparison to that of other developed nations. At far higher rates than the general population, those in or entering U.S. jails and prisons are prone to many health problems. This is a problem not just for them, but also for the communities from which they come and to which, in nearly all cases, they will return. Health and Incarceration is the summary of a workshop jointly sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences(NAS) Committee on Law and Justice and the Institute of Medicine(IOM) Board on Health and Select Populations in December 2012. Academics, practitioners, state officials, and nongovernmental organization representatives from the fields of healthcare, prisoner advocacy, and corrections reviewed what is known about these health issues and what appear to be the best opportunities to improve healthcare for those who are now or will be incarcerated. The workshop was designed as a roundtable with brief presentations from 16 experts and time for group discussion. Health and Incarceration reviews what is known about the health of incarcerated individuals, the healthcare they receive, and effects of incarceration on public health. This report identifies opportunities to improve healthcare for these populations and provides a platform for visions of how the world of incarceration health can be a better place.

"Essentials of Correctional Nursing is the first new and comprehensive text about this growing field to bepublished in the last decade. Fortunately, the editors have done a great job in all respects...This book should be required reading for all medical practitioners and administrators working in jails or prisons. It certainly belongs on the shelf of every nurse, physician, ancillary healthcare professional and corrections administrator."--Corhealth (The Newsletter of the American Correctional Health Services Association) "I highly recommend Essentials of Correctional Nursing, by Lorry Schoenly, PhD, RN, CCHP-RN andCatherine M. Knox, MN, RN, CCHP-RN, editors. This long-awaited book, dedicated to the professionalspecialty of correctional nursing, is not just a ìgood read,î it is one of ìthose booksî that stays on your desk and may never make it to the bookshelf."--American Jails "Correctional nursing has minimal published texts to support, educate, and provide ongoing bestpractices in this specialty. Schoenly and Knox have successfully met those needs with Essentialsof Correctional Nursing."--Journal of Correctional Health Care Nurses have been described as the backbone of correctional health care. Yet the complex challenges of caring for this disenfranchised population are many. Ethical dilemmas around issues of patient privacy and self-determination abound, and the ability to adhere to the central tenet of nursing, the concept of caring, is often compromised. Essentials of Correctional Nursing supports correctional nurses by providing a comprehensive body of current, evidence-based knowledge about the best practices to deliver optimal nursing care to this population. It describes how nurses can apply their knowledge and skills to assess the full range of health conditions presented by incarcerated individuals and determine the urgency and priority of requisite care. The book describes the unique health needs and corresponding care for juveniles, women, and individuals at the end of life. Chapters are devoted to nursing care for patients with chronic disease, infectious disease, mental illness, or pain, or who are in withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. Chapters addressing health screening, medical emergencies, sick call, and dental care describe how nurses identify, respond to, and manage these health care concerns in the correctional setting. The Essentials of Correctional Nursing was written and reviewed by experienced correctional nurses with thousands of hours of experience. American Nurses Association standards are woven throughout the text, which provide the information needed by nurses studying for certification exams in correctional nursing. The text will also be of value to nurses working in such settings as emergency departments, specialty clinics, hospitals, psychiatric treatment units, community health clinics, substance abuse treatment programs, and long-term care settings, where they may encounter patients who are currently or have previously been incarcerated. Key Features: Addresses legal and ethical issues surrounding correctional nursing Covers common inmate-patient health care concerns and diseases Discusses the unique health needs of juveniles, women, and individuals at the end of life Describes how nurses can safely navigate the correctional environment to create a therapeutic alliance with patients Provides information about health screening, medical emergencies, sick call, and dental care Serves as a core resource in the preparation for correctional nursing certification exams

This book brings together the principles and practices of health care for incarcerated populations. It references national standards and legal precedents and cites recognized experts and authorities. It describes serious mistakes that have occurred and discusses strategies for the future. The chapters in this book focus on four specific branches of health care services: mental health, infectious disease, dentistry, and addiction rehabilitation. To deliver effective health care in corrections, including prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities, the directors of these facilities and the health care staff need to understand not only the clinical aspects of their patients but their special needs. Those funding or planning for these programs must consider the needs of those special groups who are incarcerated. They include: members of often-underserved groups, including women, the elderly, minorities, and juveniles. Additional ways these groups and others in the prison environment are underserved include in their treatment for infectious diseases, dental health issues, and mental health, as well as for substance abuse problems. The author who has practical hands-on experience with correctional health care suggests what types of environments lead to positive outcomes and offers concrete and often cost-effective suggestions. One of the surprising suggestions is to encourage exercise programs as a cost-effective method to provide increased good health and to keep the peace. This book reflects the experience of a seasoned administrator, writer, and accreditation specialist in the field of correctional health care. It will prove to be invaluable to correctional officers, health care providers, justice and legal professionals, social workers, mental health care professionals, and counselors.