Correctional Health Care

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.

NCCHC's Mental Health Standards parallel its Standards for Health Services in format and substance, and likewise cover the general areas of care and treatment, clinical records, administration, personnel and legal issues. The difference is that they make more explicit what the standards require for adequate delivery of mental health services. Together, these tools can help facilities determine proper levels of care, organize systems more effectively and efficiently, and demonstrate that constitutional requirements are being met.

Developed by leaders in the fields of health, law and corrections, NCCHC's nationally recognized Standards lay the foundation for constitutionally acceptable health services systems and can help prisons to improve health services delivery. The Standards address nine general areas: health care services and support, patient care and treatment, special needs and services, governance and administration, personnel and training, safety, health records, health promotion and medical-legal issues. The manual provides clear compliance indicators that define expected outcomes and aid in self-assessment, guidelines for facilities of various sizes and best practices recommendations. Glossary and index.

This volume recognizes and addresses the health care issues of prisoners, to establish best practices and to learn about approaches to these challenges from around the world. It presents new evidence on several emerging and classical prison health issues. The first goal of this volume is to address emerging issues related to health in prison. Second, it presents the most recent research-based evidence and translates it to the practice. The third goal, is that it allows for sufficient diversity while also incorporating updates of some important already recognized prison health. The volume discusses prisons and the life and well-being of prisoners and staff, after growing problems as drug misuse (incl. tobacco smoking), infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, STIs and TB), psychiatric problems, inadequate and unhealthy living conditions (incl. nutrition), overcrowding of prisons. These are addressed adequately in order to meet the international requirements of equivalence of health care. The scope of this volume is at the same type specific and diverse enough to cover the interests of a large audience that includes many types of practitioners involved in health-related issues in the field of prison health care, such as psychologists, nurses and prison administration officers responsible for health care, legal professionals and social workers.