Board of Trustees Election Candidate Page
Candidate Profiles
Each year, one seat on the CCHP Board of Trustees is open for election. CCHPs in good standing have the opportunity to select who will represent them and their concerns on the board.
You must be currently CCHP certified to vote. Each CCHP may vote only once. Votes from persons not certified and former CCHPs will not be counted. Multiple votes from the same person will be void.
The 2024 election will take place from August 1 through August 15. Current CCHPs will receive an email invitation on August 1 with the candidate statements and a link to online voting. If you do not receive the email, check your spam folder and, if you don’t find it, contact [email protected].
Three CCHPs have been nominated for the three-year position on the Board. Their candidate statements appear below.
Note: These statements have not been edited.
Jamal Gwathney, MD, MPH, CCHP, FAAFP
Captain, United States Public Health Service; Deputy Chief Medical Officer/Chief Medical Services Unit; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Health Service Corps
I have been in correctional medicine for the last 12 years. 9 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) as the clinical director of a single facility and 3 years as the deputy medical director for all of ICE. I have engaged in innovative projects and been on the cusp of new services such as the first within the BOP to use immunoglobulin for COVID-19 patients and one of the first to use Sublocade for our opioid use disorder patients.
As the deputy medical director with ICE and as a Board of Trustee member I am striving to expand telehealth services within our correctional system. Endeavoring to make it cost effective for our members and easy to implement. Collaboration between facilities could help lower vendor costs while fostering inter-operability. Exploring AI in medicine is yet another field that is worthy of investigation.
Lastly, recruiting more disciplines into correctional healthcare, to expand the pool of clinical providers that are qualified to provide high quality and cost-effective care. Possibly utilizing paramedics certified through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) or certified nurse assistants with clear scope of services and oversight could support the field in numerous ways.
I believe my past experiences and vision for the future of correctional medicine would provide valuable insight for the Board and the membership at large.
Meghan Mahoum-Nassar, LPC, LMHC, CCHP-MH
Director of Quality Assurance, NaphCare Arizona Regional Office
Early in my counseling career, it struck me that many of my patients only had access to help either inside correctional facilities or through court-ordered community treatment programs. With over fifteen years working with justice-involved patient populations I bring a perspective balanced between clinical care, quality improvement, and risk management. My community behavioral health experience allowed me to enter the world of corrections with a solid foundational knowledge of substance use disorders, detox, medication assisted treatment, crisis intervention, juvenile populations, perinatal mental health, and suicide prevention. In addition to my clinical background, my experience working in quality improvement and risk management has taught me to value how accreditation standards both encourage consistency and require individualization for each facility. During my time working in corrections I have had the privilege of working with smaller facilities with an average daily population of 150, large community jail systems with over 4,000 incarcerated individuals, and prison services contracted with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry. My vision for the future of the program is to continue pushing for progress. Healthcare and behavioral health in corrections has evolved, and so must we. Two of my goals include consideration for offering an OTP Standards Review at conferences similar to the medical and mental health standards as MAT continues to expand and exploring standards for geriatric care for the aging population of our jails and prisons.
As a healthcare professional with over 20 years of experience, my vision includes strengthening the quality of healthcare services in the Department of Corrections by increasing education and certification in national standards among healthcare staff. I am committed to improving mentorship and growth opportunities by promoting continuous professional development as well as increased access to educational resources. One such example is to promote more on-site or virtual mentorship and training in correctional health, thereby increasing interest in becoming a certified health professional, which consequently improves healthcare delivery.
I would be an asset due to:
- Longevity: I have held the CCHP certification for 12 years, with CCHP-RN certification since 2017.
- Leadership: Since 2006, I have been the Director of Nursing at Unity Health Care at the Department of Corrections in Washington, DC. I am an active member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, as well as the DC Nurse Practitioner Association. I am also sponsor of the Black Nurses Association of the Greater Washington, DC area, and am an active member of the nursing sorority Sigma Theta Tau.
- Good reputation: I was featured in the DC Nurses Magazine for my leadership in healthcare at the DC Department of Corrections. I was also recognized as employee of the month in 2022 for outstanding leadership.
In conclusion, my qualifications, outstanding work ethic, leadership skills, and compassion makes me a strong candidate for the CCHP committee membership.