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NCCHC News
Get in Tune With CHORDS
Building on a chronic disease data reporting program it
initiated several years ago, NCCHC is now working with leaders
of a variety of correctional systems throughout the country to
establish a national performance measurement system called
CHORDS (Correctional Health Outcome and Resource Data Set).
More
»
(Fall 2011)
New Position Statement Addresses Chronic
Pain
Chronic, noncancer pain is a common complaint in
corrections. Like any other chronic medical condition, it needs
to be evaluated and managed appropriately. Although the
correctional environment presents challenges in treatment,
particularly when medication is required, these challenges are
not insurmountable. To help primary care clinicians understand
the issues and manage this complaint competently, NCCHC has
issued a position statement titled
Management of Chronic Pain. (Fall 2011)
Carl Bell Takes the Helm of NCCHC Board
Incoming board chairman
Carl C. Bell, MD, CCHP, knows well the work of the National
Commission: He is a founding member of the board of directors
who served as chair in 1991. An expert in correctional
psychiatry, he will focus on prevention as well as violence
reduction in incarcerated populations during his term, which
began Oct. 16. He represents the National
Medical Association on the board.
Judith Robbins, LCSW, CCHP-A, was selected as chair-elect at the
October meeting of the NCCHC board. She represents the National
Association of Social Workers on the board. (Fall 2011)
Welcome to
New Board Members!
The National Commission and its board of directors welcome
two new board members, effective
October 2011.
• Ilse Levin,
DO, representing the American Medical Association. Employed by
Unity Healthcare, Levin is a staff attending physician at the
Washington DC Department of Corrections and the Reentry Clinic,
providing care to inmates and halfway house residents.
• Joe Goldenson,
M D,
representing the American Public Health Association.
Employed by the San Francisco
Department of Public Health, Goldenson is
the medical director of the San Francisco jail, a position he
has held for 20 years.
Summer Boot
Camps Wow ‘Em in Vegas
Summer of 2011 saw the
launch of the second in our Boot Camp series, this one geared to
health services administrators. Held simultaneously with the
Medical Director Boot Camp, now in its third year, the events
were wildly successful, producing heaps of unsolicited praise.
Here’s a sample
»
PREA
Resource Center Draws on NCCHC Expertise
A new resource center is being launched as the national
source for support, training, technical assistance and research
to help corrections and law enforcement professionals in
complying with national standards to eliminate sexual assault in
confinement settings. NCCHC is among the half dozen partner
organizations selected to help develop the center’s programs and
will lend its expertise in designing training curricula.
Established through a cooperative agreement between the Bureau
of Justice Assistance and the National Council on Crime and
Delinquency, the National Resource Center for the Elimination of
Prison Rape is an important “next step” in the effort that
commenced with passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act in
2003. Learn more:
www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/news. (Summer 2011)
Juvenile Standards Now Available
A new edition of the Standards for Health Services in
Juvenile Detention and Confinement Facilities has been
published. Two years in the making and informed by input from
the field, the revised manual is modeled after the 2008
Standards for adult facilities but takes into account the
issues unique to juvenile settings and populations. The manual
made its debut at the Updates conference in May. See this
article for a
summary of the most significant changes to this edition. (Spring
2011)
2011 Updates Conference to Focus on
Emerging Issues
and Solutions
More than 1,000 correctional health professionals will
convene at the Updates in Correctional Health Care conference to
explore many of the emerging issues that affect this field as
well as strategies for managing them. Preconference seminars
will delve into NCCHC's Standards and other essential
topics. The meeting will take place May 21-24 at the Sheraton
Hotel in Phoenix.
Download the news
release
»
Geriatric and Palliative Care Education
for Correctional Health Professionals
Aging inmates are straining correctional health care systems
across the country, and the burden is likely to increase as this
segment of the inmate population continues its rapid growth. In
Kansas, which ranks 10th among states in the percentage of the
“oldest old,” an innovative multidisciplinary organization has
long sought to improve care for the state’s geriatric population
by providing health professionals with training and resources
for high-quality, evidence-based care. Now, the
Central Plains
Geriatric Education Center has set its sights on correctional
settings.
NCCHC has entered into a five-year agreement to help
the CPGEC develop and deliver professional education on
geriatric and palliative care for correctional populations. The
aim is to collaborate with experts in a variety of
health-related disciplines to determine needed competencies,
generate content for attaining those competencies and develop
multifaceted ways to meet the professionals’ learning needs.
This education will be available to correctional health
professionals throughout the nation. The CPGEC, which was
launched in 1998, is housed at the Landon Center on Aging on the
campus of the University of Kansas Medical Center.
This important project is a major step toward enabling
correctional systems to provide evidence-based care to a
challenging patient population, promising not only to transform
care delivery and patient outcomes, but also to significantly
reduce health care expenditures. (Fall 2010)
Meet Board Chair Peter Ober
In October 2009, the NCCHC board of directors chose Peter Ober,
JD, MSEd, PA-C, CCHP, as chair-elect. However, early in 2010 he
stepped up into the chairman role when the sitting chair had to
resign. Now, as he enters his second year of directing the
board, he shares tidbits about his career, his views on
correctional health care, and his focus for his term as chair.
Read more
»
Welcome to
New Board Members!
The National Commission and its board of directors welcome
three new members to the board. Each officially joined in
October 2010, at the annual meeting of the board.
• Pauline
Marcussen, RHIA, CCHP, representing the American Health
Information Management Association
Marcussen works as interdepartmental project manager in the
medical records unit of the Rhode Island Department of
Corrections; she also teaches at Community College of Rhode
Island.
• Ryung Suh,
MD, representing the American College of Preventive Medicine
Suh is the president and chief executive officer of Atlas
Research, a research and consulting firm based in Washington,
DC; among other positions, he also teaches at Georgetown
University Medical Center and other institutions, is a senior
fellow at the National Opinion Research Center, and holds
several hospital appointments.
• Patricia Voermans, RN, CCHP-RN,
representing the American Nurses Association
Voermans is a health services consultant primarily doing quality
improvement and other special projects, as well as a nurse
practitioner for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections; she
also is a lead accreditation surveyor for NCCHC.
Board Election Results
Congratulations to Carl Bell, MD, CCHP, whom the NCCHC board of
directors voted to be chair-elect at its annual meeting in
October. Bell has represented the National Medical Association
on the NCCHC board since it was established in 1983 and has been
an active participant, serving on numerous committees, doing
accreditation surveys, contributing to Standards manuals
and more. A board-certified psychiatrist, he is the
CEO/president of the Community Mental Health Council, a
comprehensive mental health center on Chicago’s South Side, and
director of the Institute for Juvenile Research in the
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of
Illinois at Chicago. (Fall 2010)
California Prisons to Adopt NCCHC Standards
The road to reform of the California prison health care
system has been long and difficult. But now the turnaround is in
full swing, and even greater improvements are on the horizon:
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
intends to bring 90% of CDCR’s health care programs in
substantial compliance with NCCHC standards by June 30, 2015.
This objective is part of the five-year strategic plan
issued by CDCR Secretary Matthew Cates this summer. The plan has
four goals with 26 objectives that are seen as key for
organizational process improvement. Goal 3 is to “employ best
practices in correctional custody, care, and rehabilitation,”
and national correctional standards are a key performance
indicator for this goal.
Although the goal has several objectives that touch
upon different areas of prison operations, the objective for
health care relies on NCCHC’s Standards for Health Services.
According to the document, “The courts have historically set
CDCR healthcare standards. CDCR will adopt National Commission
on Correctional Health Care standards to evaluate its
performance and demonstrate compliance with national quality of
care standards.”
In fact, many of the prisons’ policies are already
based on the NCCHC standards, and this objective will move them
significantly further in that direction.
CDCR is one of the largest prison systems in the United
States, with 33 adult institutions, five juvenile justice
facilities and several other types of facilities. It is
responsible for overseeing 168,000 adult inmates and 1,400
juvenile offenders, and has approximately 66,000 employees. The
strategic plan can be viewed online at
www.cdcr.ca.gov/About_CDCR/index.html. (Summer 2010)
The First Med-Mal Insurance for
Corrections
Correctional health professionals have unique risk management
needs, and now there’s a special insurance program designed just
for them. The Academy of Correctional Health Professionals has
partnered with NSU Healthcare, a division of National Specialty
Underwriters, to sponsor a professional and general liability
insurance program.
NSU will offer very broad medical malpractice insurance
coverage with specialized risk management resources for all
employers of correctional health professionals. In recognition
of the value of accreditation, participants who work in
accredited facilities will receive premium credits or discounts.
They also will have access to a valuable array of risk
management services, such as online tools and resources to help
prevent medical staff errors and patient injuries, plus
recommended resources, self-assessment tools, a video lending
library, newsletters and e-news alerts.
“This is an excellent program,” says Academy
chair-elect Ralf Salke, BSN, CCHP-A, vice president of
operations for Correctional Medical Services. “We believe it is
the first program geared to fit the needs of correctional health
professionals and it is truly unique in the U.S. medical
malpractice insurance market. It recognizes the quality of NCCHC
accredited facilities and the professionalism of Academy
members, providing professional liability risk management
services that will help reduce risk, prevent claims and improve
the operation of facilities and companies serving this field.”
The program will be unveiled in October at the National
Conference on Correctional Health Care in Las Vegas. Visit the
Academy in exhibit hall booth 134 to learn more. Information and
a link will also be available at the
Academy Web site. (Summer 2010)
Board Member Updates
• Sheriff B. J. Roberts was sworn in as the new president
of the National Sheriffs' Association in June. He is the sheriff
for the city of Hampton, VA, and represents the NSA on NCCHC’s
board of directors. The association represents the nation’s
3,083 elected sheriffs. Over the next year, Roberts will guide
NSA’s efforts to support sheriffs’ offices nationwide,
particularly with regard to public safety, jail operations and
federal legislation. (Summer 2010)
•
Already a prolific author, Tom Fagan, PhD, has notched
another one. Coedited with Robert Ax, PhD, Correctional
Mental Health: From Theory to Practice offers best practices
for this challenging area of care. Fagan, who represents the
American Psychological Association on NCCHC’s board of
directors, has vast expertise in this topic. He spent nearly 25
years at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in various roles
including regional psychology services administrator and
director of clinical training for psychology services. For the
past 10 years he has taught at the college level. The book is
due to be published by Sage in December. Look for it at the
NCCHC bookstore online and at conferences. (Summer 2010)
OTP Accreditation Assistance Continues
NCCHC has received a renewal of a three-year grant from the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment related to NCCHC
accreditation of opioid treatment programs. The funding helps to
reduce the costs of education and surveys for OTPs seeking accreditation. (Summer 2010)
Congrats to First CCHP-RNs!
Fourteen registered nurses who
participate in the Certified Correctional Health Professional
program make up our inaugural group of
CCHP-RNs! Designed to
recognize the work that correctional RNs do and the difference
they make, this specialty certification program held its first
exam earlier this year; certification for this group begins Oct.
1. (Summer 2010)
Revised Guidelines for Disease Management
The NCCHC Policy
and Standards committee has redesigned and renamed the NCCHC
guidelines. Now called Guidelines for Disease Management in
Correctional Settings, they are streamlined and standardized in
format and content. They minimize discussion of clinical issues
that are covered more comprehensively in guidance from
governmental agencies and national organizations, instead
focusing on issues of concern in correctional settings. Each
provides a list of these valuable resources. Four guidelines
have been approved thus far: asthma, diabetes, hyperlipidemia
and hypertension. They are available in the
Resources section of
this website. (Winter 2010)
Pocket Guide on Schizophrenia
NCCHC is collaborating with Applied
Clinical Education to produce an educational pocket guide titled
“Caring for Individuals With Schizophrenia in Correctional
Settings and Beyond.” Written by correctional psychiatry experts
Andrew Angelino, MD, Jeffrey Metzner, MD, CCHP-A, and Henry
Weinstein, MD, the guide includes a free posttest that offers
one hour of continuing education credit for physicians, nurses
and psychologists.
Content will address treatment guidelines specific to
incarcerated patients, key issues in psychosocial and
pharmacologic treatment, strategies for risk assessment and risk
management, common barriers to adequate treatment and
challenges with preparations for reentry to the community.
The guide is supported by an educational grant from Janssen, a
Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. It will
be distributed in the first quarter of 2010.
(Fall 2009)
New
Position Statements
The NCCHC
board of directors has adopted two new position statements. One
addresses
Transgender Health Care and the other addresses Health Services
Research. Find them in the
Resources and Links section
»
(Fall 2009)
NCCHC
Receives SAMHSA Reapproval to Accredit OTPs
The Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration has reauthorized
NCCHC to accredit
opioid treatment programs for an additional five years. In 2004,
NCCHC became one of six entities so authorized, and the only one
specializing in corrections.
By law, opioid treatment programs based in correctional
facilities must obtain certification from SAMHSA, but to become
certified, OTPs first must be accredited by a federally approved
body.
NCCHC standards are the foundation of the OTP
accreditation program. The Standards for Opioid Treatment
Programs in Correctional Facilities are based on federal
regulations but address the special nature of care provided in
correctional facilities. Learn more at the
Accreditation section
»
(Summer 2009)
Survey Will Help to Bridge Gaps in Pandemic
Flu Assistance
As part of a nationwide effort to improve relationships
between correctional facilities and state and local health
departments, NCCHC is conducting a survey of all NCCHC-accredited
facilities asking
about health department assistance related to the H1N1
flu outbreak.
Learn more »
New SAMHSA
Grant Supports OTP Accreditation Program
The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has
awarded NCCHC funding related to its accreditation program for
opioid treatment programs. The grant is part of SAMHSA’s effort
to reduce the costs of basic accreditation education and
accreditation surveys for OTPs. This latest grant will support
quality accreditation services that promote better and more
accessible health services for inmates, and that help OTPs to be
self-sufficient in maintaining accreditation. A priority is for
accredited OTPs to maintain quality of care and to expand their
services. (Summer 2008)
Learn more
about NCCHC's OTP accreditation program
»
Board Member
Update
Alvin J. Thompson, MD, was honored by the American College
of Physicians as recipient of the Ralph O. Claypoole Sr.
Memorial Award. Bestowed at the ACP’s annual meeting in May, the
award is given to an outstanding practitioner of internal
medicine who has devoted his career to the care of patients, is
highly respected for his clinical skills and has been a role
model as a member of a clinical faculty or department of
medicine.
Thompson is a long-standing member of the NCCHC board of directors,
representing the American Medical Association for more than 20
years. After more than 60 years of practice and teaching, he is
an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at the University of
Washington.
In announcing the award, the ACP (also a supporting organization of
NCCHC) cited Thompson’s career-long dedication to the strategic
mentoring of community organizations and individuals. In 1969,
he developed the unique health plan of the Seattle Model City
program. In 2005, he was cochair of the task force that guided
the development of the acclaimed Puget Sound Health Alliance.
Thompson also was the founding president of the Washington State
Association for Biomedical Research. He has been president of
all of his city, county and state professional organizations and
has served as ACP governor for Washington and Alaska. He was
elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1978. His current
service to NCCHC includes participating on the finance committee
and representing the Commission to the AMA’s House of Delegates.
(Spring 2008)
AMA
Endorses Opioid Replacement Therapy in Corrections
The American Medical Association's house of delegates has
adopted a policy of support for "Opiate
Replacement Therapy Programs in Correctional Facilities"
(resolution no. 443). The action was taken at the AMA's annual
meeting in June. The resolution calls for the AMA to endorse
this medical treatment model as "an effective therapy in
treating opiate-addicted persons who are incarcerated" and for collaboration with NCCHC and the American Society of
Addiction Medicine in this endorsement. To read the entire
resolution, visit the AMA Web site at
www.ama-assn.org/meetings/public/annual05/refcomdannotateda05.pdf.
New
AMA Policy Backs NCCHC Standards, Accreditation
The American Medical Association
has adopted a policy of support for the National Commission on
Correctional Health Care’s standards for health services and
its accreditation program. The policy “encourage[s] all
correctional systems to support NCCHC accreditation,” and
calls for finding ways to increase funding for correctional
health services. Read the full
story. (Spring 2004)
Institute of Medicine Honors NCCHC Founders
Bernard
P. Harrison, JD, and B. Jaye Anno, PhD, CCHP-A, were
honored for their pioneering efforts that have appreciably
improved correctional health care.
Read
more... (Fall 2003)
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