Six Scholarship Winners Attend the NCCHC Correctional Mental Health Care Conference

NCCHC’s Correctional Mental Health Care Conference in Denver attracted a record number of attendees this year, with six of the nearly 500 participants supported by the NCCHC Foundation Scholarship Fund. The Foundation Board selected the participants based on a series of essay questions. Centurion Health, YesCare, and other generous donors to the NCCHC Foundation have provided funding for this program.

One of the winners, Lt. Nathan Drew, LICSW, LCSW-C, U.S. Public Health Service, called the conference “the greatest experience.” He said he gained “a wealth of information to bring back to work. I was especially impacted by the sessions on compassion fatigue and racial trauma. When I think of compassion fatigue, I only considered the perspective of a mental health worker. Not once did I take into account how the custody staff must feel and all that they experience. I truly appreciated the presenter’s specific emphasis on compassion fatigue as it relates to custody staff. It helped me to begin brainstorming ways to better support our custody staff at my facility. Truly thought-provoking!”

Another winner, Kristin Kastner, RN, from Maricopa County, was impressed with the “networking, empowerment, and emphasis on evidence-proven skills/tactics.”

In addition to attending the conference, the scholarship winners had an orientation with three mentors on-site, Sharen Barboza, PhD, CCHP-MH, chair of the NCCHC Foundation, and psychologist/consultant, Robin Timme, PsyD, CCHP-MH, CCHP-A, senior expert, Falcon Correctional and Community Services, and Walter Campbell, PhD, CCHP-MH, chief psychologist, Idaho Department of Correction.

Barboza notes, “It is incredibly important to be able to introduce individuals new to the field of correctional healthcare to NCCHC and all it has to offer through this scholarship program. We received hundreds of applications from clinicians and students across the country.  It is so heartening to see such interest in the challenging and meaningful care we provide to those in need.  It gives me hope for the future of our incarcerated patients.”

Scholarships for the National Conference on Correctional Health Care will be announced in September and applications for the Spring Conference on Correctional Health Care will open by January 15, 2023. To support the future of correctional health care, successful applicants must be students or those with less than three years of experience in correctional health care.

In addition to the six winners in Denver, another 13 early career professionals received scholarships to attend the Virtual Correctional Mental Health Care Conference. Support from the field is critical to continue this program to inspire and educate early career professionals. Learn more about the NCCHC Foundation and make a donation today.