NCCHC News

A Warm Welcome to Our New Accreditation Director

NCCHC is pleased to welcome Jennifer Kistler, MPH, as our new director of accreditation. Jennifer possesses a solid background in public health, with expertise in accreditation and continuous quality improvement in state and county systems.
    Before joining us in April, Jennifer spent five years with the Ohio Department of Health’s Office of Policy and Leadership as a local health department consultant, helping the state’s 131 county and city health departments to meet state performance standards. She worked with these agencies in areas such as public health education and preparing for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national public health performance standards assessment.
    She also administrated Performance Ohio, a Web-based instrument for evaluating all state agencies with the goal of improving performance and productivity. In addition, she was involved in the Multistate Learning Collaborative, a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop voluntary accreditation standards and performance measures for state and local health departments.
    At NCCHC, Jennifer’s first major projects are the rollout of the revised 2008 jail and prison standards, as well as the introduction of new mental health standards and the Commission’s new mental health accreditation program.
    “I look forward to working with our dedicated partners for the advancement of correctional health care,” Jennifer says. “NCCHC continues to move in a positive direction as we strive to help further improve quality and efficiency in health services. We also are looking to enhance communication and improve the accreditation experience for all involved.”
    Jennifer earned a master’s degree in public health (epidemiology) from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and psychology from Ohio Wesleyan University.
    We also send our gratitude to Jennifer’s predecessor, Judith Stanley, MA, CCHP-A, who dedicated more than 10 years of outstanding service to NCCHC and the field as a whole. She continues to serve in a consultative role while settling into semiretirement. (Spring 2008)

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)

Correctional Health and Preventive Medicine
For the second consecutive year, Donald Kern, MD, MPH, CCHP, organized and moderated a concurrent session on correctional health care at the annual meeting of the American College of Preventive Medicine, held in Austin, TX, in February. Titled Correctional Public Health: Current Clinical and Research Challenges, the session featured three speakers presenting different examples of teamwork between correctional health and public health at the federal, state and local levels. Charlotte Kent, PhD, of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, spoke on STD and TB control programs; Diana Schneider, DrPH, MA, of the Division of Immigration Health Services, reviewed TB screening and treatment for immigration detainees; and Ingrid Binswanger, MD, MPH, of the University of Colorado, Denver, spoke on her study of risk of death after release from prison. The 90-minute session drew several dozen practitioners, researchers and students; conference evaluation results showed impressive 100% favorable ratings for the session overall and for each of the speakers. Kern represents the ACPM on the NCHC board of directors. (Winter 2008)

CorrectCare^™ Turns Over a New Leaf
Six years ago, we redesigned CorrectCare, freshening its look and  features while maintaining our balance of news, articles and commentary from the field along with NCCHC business. We got great feedback except for one thing. A reader survey found that the publication got high ratings editorially, but the newspaper format was a bit clumsy.
   Now, in its 22nd year, CorrectCare is undergoing yet another transformation. It's the same magazine you know and love, but trimmed down, toned up and looking good, if we dare say so. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Let us know what works, what doesn’t or anything else that’s on your mind. Write to editor@ncchc.org. (Winter 2008)

Here Come the 2008 Standards!
NCCHC’s new standards have been polished, reviewed, polished some more and are now going to press. Since the first editions were published 30 years ago, the correctional and health care communities have relied on the Standards for Health Services as the benchmark for health care delivery in correctional settings. These new editions for jails and prisons incorporate many improvements to assure state-of-the-art care.
   For ordering information, visit the Publications section or call 773-880-1460. For an in-depth discussion about the new standards, be sure to attend Updates 2008.

Board Member Update
• Robert E. Morris, MD, began his term as chair of NCCHC's board of directors during the board's annual meeting in October. Morris represents the Society for Adolescent Medicine on the board. He is the medical director for the Juvenile Services Division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and also is a professor of clinical pediatrics at the UCLA Medical Center.
• Joseph V. Penn, MD, CCHP, is the chair-elect. He represents the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry on the board, and is the director of psychiatric services at the Rhode Island Training School, Cranston.
• Two new members have been elected to the board:
   – Eileen Couture, DO, RN, MS, represents the American College of Emergency Physicians. She is the interim chair of correctional medicine/nursing of Cermak Health Services, which provides health services for the Cook County (IL) Jail.
   – Capt. Nicholas Makrides, DMD, MA, MPH, represents the American Dental Association. He serves as the chief dentist for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC.
(Fall 2007)

Heads Up on New Health Assessment Standard
Managing inmate health care is fraught with difficulty. NCCHC understands that better than anyone. That’s why we are pleased to announce an important change to our Standards for Health Services that will transform health assessment in prisons and jails. To be unveiled at the National Conference on Correctional Health Care, this forward thinking change permits greater flexibility in health care delivery. The likely consequences are many: better staffing and care, improved patient outcomes, fewer legal risks and potential cost savings.
     For over 30 years, NCCHC has led the movement to improve correctional health care, setting national standards that enable facilities of all types to provide constitutionally acceptable care. These standards are endorsed by the medical community and accepted in the courts.
     Having guided thousands of facilities of all types and sizes, we are the world’s leading authority on correctional health care. At the same time, we work with our supporting organizations and other leading professional health care associations, and keep close tabs on community practices to ensure that our correctional health care standards are clinically sound and state-of-the-art.
     The forthcoming new standards will be reviewed at the National Conference during the preconference seminars on Saturday, Oct. 13, and a concurrent session on Wednesday. Oct. 17.
     We look forward to giving you steadfast support throughout the process of transitioning to the new standards. (Summer 2007)

Board Member Update
NCCHC welcomes the following three new members to its board of directors.
• Patricia Blair, PhD, LLM, JD, MSN, is the representative of the American Bar Association. She is a health law attorney in private practice and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Texas at Tyler.
• Robert Gogats, MA, is the representative of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. He serves as the health officer for the Burlington County Health Department, Westampton, NJ.
• Ronald Wiborg, MA, MBA, is the representative of the National Association of Counties. He is the contracts and grants manager for the Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections, Minneapolis, MN.

NCCHC Launches Online Correctional Health Care Buyers Guide
If you source or purchase products for your department, you now have a powerful tool at your fingertips. The NCCHC Buyers Guide is a search engine that continually indexes the Web sites of all companies represented in the directory. Visitors can easily locate products and services unique to this field without the clutter of a general Internet search. The Buyers Guide gives you the option of performing a keyword-driven search that mirrors traditional search engines, or a category-specific search. Both methods produce the most relevant results on the Web. With the downloadable desktop search application, you can search for products and services from a small window on your desktop, making the process both convenient and time-efficient. The Buyers Guide also includes a Request for Proposal (RFP) tool that enables you to contact a group of suppliers with one click of a button. (Summer 2007)

Opioid Treatment Education
NCCHC has developed an educational CD to help correctional facilities manage substance abusers in their charge. Produced through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the CD features a presentation by substance abuse treatment expert Kevin Fiscella, MD. Fiscella represents the American Society of Addiction Medicine on NCCHC’s board of directors and is an associate professor at the University of Rochester’s Department of Family Medicine. The program offers 1 hour of CME/CE credit. The CD will be sent at no charge to facility administrators at prisons and jails nationwide. Additional copies will be available for purchase. (Winter 2007)

NCCHC Board Member Update

• Preventive Medicine Meeting Focuses on Correctional Health
For the first time, the American College of Preventive Medicine’s annual meeting included a panel on correctional health care. ACPM hosted over 700 academics, researchers, public health physicians and physicians-in-training at the five-day meeting in February. Speakers included Donald Kern, MD, MPH, CCHP, who represents ACPM on the NCCHC board, Mary Applegate, MD, MPH, B. Jaye Anno, PhD, CCHP-A, Lester Wright, MD, MPH, and Lawrence Gostin, JD. The talks were followed by a lively question and answer session. (Thanks to Dr. Kern for the report on the meeting.) (Winter 2007)

• Robert E. Morris, MD, was selected as chair-elect of the National Commission’s board of directors at its annual meeting, held Oct. 29 in Atlanta. His term as chair will begin next October, after the 2007 board meeting. Morris represents the Society for Adolescent Medicine on the board, and has long chaired NCCHC’s juvenile health committee. He works as professor of pediatrics at the University of California Los Angeles.
• The NCCHC board also welcomes new member Ronald C. Moomaw, DO, who represents the American College of Neuropsychiatrists. Moomaw is director of clinical services and chief psychiatrist for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Bureau of Mental Health Services. He also practices in various community settings. His background includes work as an Air Force flight surgeon.
• Sheriff B. J. Roberts has been elected sergeant-at-arms on the executive committee of the National Sheriffs’ Association. The position is the first step in a path that often leads to presidency of the committee. Roberts heads the City of Hampton (VA) Sheriff’s Office. He represents the NSA on the NCCHC board of directors and is vice chair of the accreditation committee.
• David W. Roush, PhD, was one of several juvenile justice experts who presented testimony at the June meeting of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission in Boston. He spoke on the implications to juvenile justice facilities of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, including staffing and training issues related to sexual assaults on juveniles in confinement. Roush represents the National Juvenile Detention Association on the NCCHC board.
• William J. Rold, JD, CCHP-A, served on the Committee on Ethical Considerations for Revisions to DHHS Regulations for Protection of Prisoners Involved in Research. A project of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, the committee’s report, Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Prisoners, was published in July. The report will be the subject of an article in the next issue of CorrectCare. Rold represents the American Bar Association on the NCCHC board.
(Fall 2006)

New look for JCHC
If you subscribe to the Journal of Correctional Health Care, you know that it has a new look and format, as well as a new publisher, Sage Publications, whose roster of academic, educational and professional journals is vast. Still owned by NCCHC and edited by John R. Miles, MPA, JCHC is now more valuable than ever. Visit its new Web site to learn about benefits such as access to Sage Journals Online, e-mail alerts, online subscription management and more: http://jchc.sagepub.com (Spring 2006)

Clinical Guidelines for Adolescent Care
NCCHC is issuing clinical guidelines for the most common and most problematic conditions seen among juveniles in confinement. As with our guidelines for adults, these also are based on clinical practice guidance from other national organizations but adapted for correctional populations and environments. The first two guidelines address asthma and seizure disorder. Others still in development address obesity, HIV, diabetes and hypertension. See the Clinical Guidelines page of the Resources section to download these documents. (Spring 2006)

Straight Talk on Opioid Treatment in Corrections
To help correctional administrators better understand the issues and the potential benefits of opioid replacement therapy, NCCHC is sending a brochure to administrators at thousands of jails and prisons. Created in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the brochure outlines how corrections-based opioid therapy programs can help in treating inmate addictions cost-effectively. It also touches on the federal guidelines on operating OTPs in correctional facilities, and explains how NCCHC can assist facilities interested in establishing OTPs. (Spring 2006)

NCCHC Board Update
Thomas J. Fagan, PhD, is being honored by the American Psychology Association with its 2006 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public Sector. The award will be presented at the APA’s annual meeting in August. He also is a past recipient of the Special Achievement Award of the APA’s Division 18, Psychologists in Public Service.
   In honoring Fagan, the APA pays tribute to the important work he has done in the field of correctional psychology. Fagan spent 23 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, developing policies, procedures and quality assurance measures in what was an emerging discipline. By 1991 he had become director of clinical training for psychology services. He also did significant work in the areas of hostage negotiation and suicide prevention.
   Since retiring from the FBOP in 1999, Fagan has taught at the college level and is now an associate professor of psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
   Fagan has represented the APA on NCCHC’s board of directors since 1996, and served as board chair in 2004. (Spring 2006)

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.

Commission Receives SAMHSA Grant to Aid Opioid Treatment Education, Programming
The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded NCCHC a three-year grant to make clinically sound opioid treatment services more available in correctional facilities, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. Read more... (Spring 2005)

Searching for Common Ground: One Year Progress Report
Over the past year, NCCHC funded by the JEHT Foundation, has conducted a search for excellent models and best practices in community reentry. Read the progress report. (Summer 2004)

NCCHC Founder Passes Away
The field of correctional health care has lost its patriarch, and many of us have lost a very good friend: Bernard P. Harrison, JD. Read about his remarkable life. (Spring 2004)

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)

Accreditation of Opioid Treatment Programs
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has granted NCCHC the authority to accredit opioid treatment programs throughout the country. Accreditation by NCCHC allows opioid treatment programs based in correctional facilities to obtain certification from SAMHSA as required by federal law. One of only six accrediting bodies so authorized, and the only one specializing in corrections, NCCHC has developed standards that are based on federal regulations and that recognize the special nature of correctional facilities. An OTP seeking accreditation by NCCHC need not be in a facility whose health services are accredited. To learn more, visit the OTP Accreditation page or contact NCCHC's director of accreditation at OTPinfo@ncchc.org. (Spring 2004)
   Purchase the OTP standards online.

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)