In May, 33 PHS Correctional Health Care executives and upper-level management staff successfully completed the CCHP examination at their corporate headquarters in Brentwood, TN. This special, on-site test administration occurred following a daylong, on-site training on the NCCHC Standards provided by National Commission cofounder B. Jaye Anno, PhD, CCHP-A.

NCCHC Standards are widely recognized as setting the bar for health services in correctional institutions. Because the exam is based on the Standards, many candidates attend the Standards preconference seminar at our Updates and National Conferences to brush up before taking the examination. Candidates emphatically agreed that the opportunity to review just one day prior to the examination was extremely helpful. Many also praised Anno as a “tremendous speaker.”

The events were held as the result of a corporate effort to focus on patient safety. Two PHS excecutives—Becky Pinney, RN, CCHP-RN, president of metropolitan corrections systems, and Jessica Lee, MSN, CCHP, director of professional development and training, coordinated the effort to kick off the company’s annual management meeting. Pinney has served on the CCHP board of trustees since 2007.

The group was thrilled to be rewarded for their efforts in learning that they achieved an unprecedented 97% passing rate. Surely this team-oriented approach to excellence has served them well in integrating with Correctional Medical Services to become Corizon, one of the nation’s largest correctional health services management companies. The merger occurred in June.