Healthcare is essential and mandatory by law that everyone young and old, free or incarcerated are entitled to receive the proper services and medical treatment. This agency was brought into place to make sure that the inmates are healthy and if diagnosis of a condition they have every right to be treated. No matter if you are free and can make your own choices or you are incarcerated living in a state or federal facility and have no real rights. Everyone has that right to get access to health care and medical facilities. This paper will discuss the government agency that regulates the healthcare in state and federal prisons, the impact it has on healthcare and what kind of authority the agency has in the regulation of healthcare on the prisons. …show more content…
It will also discuss the process that the agency takes to get its accreditation, certification and authorization to do the necessary job to ensure that everyone get the best possible health care even if they are in prison. The agency is called, “The Federal Bureau of Prisons.” The Federal Bureau of Prisons also known as the “BOP” is an agency within the department of justice that was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on May 14, 1930 to help establish and protect society by confining offenders into controlled environments of prisons and community based facilities that are safe, cost efficient, secure and humane. The headquarters is in Washington D.C. and has about 117 prisons, 6 regional office, 22 community corrections offices and 2 staff training centers are all ran under the federal bureau of prisons. (Allgov.com, 2014) The agency takes full responsibility in maintaining healthcare and medical services for the inmates in prisons. The health care division of the BOP is responsible for medical, dental, and mental health services that meets the standards for a prison environment.
They use licensed and accredited providers, dentists and specialists to give medical attention to the inmates in their designated medical facilities under the direct supervision of the BOP. If the inmate has a history or just been diagnosed with an acute or chronic condition they will be sent to a referral treatment center and is seen by an accredited physician that has been hired by the health care division to make sure that they will get the excellent treatment to manage their disease and symptoms. The health care division also promotes a healthy lifestyle for inmates such as counseling, education about the prescriptions they take as well as what side effects of that specific medication, how to prevent, recognized and get treatment for any infectious disease, educates them on if they have chronic conditions and lets them know of the clinics they have for such things as hypertension and diabetes and the process of being able to go to those clinics. The Federal Bureau of Prisons also coordinated the safety programs such as environmental health, occupational safety and fire protection to ensure that everyone, staff and inmates have a healthy, safe environment in both the work and living areas. The Bureau also ensures that they all are eating a healthy meal well balanced meal which is manage by the food service program in these …show more content…
facilities. The food service program gives nutrition education, dietary counseling for example counseling on how to eat properly. If a person has diabetes they will education them on what to eat and not to eat, as well as let them know what foods cannot be eaten with certain medications. The food service program also puts a huge emphasizes on eating a heart healthy diet. The regulatory authority the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in relation to health care is quite extensive. They are the ones that oversee all medical treatments going on in all the facilities as well as making sure that the inmates are being educated on their medications, diseases and lifestyle. They also regulate nutrition for all inmates. They do all this with the understanding the by law all people have the rights to medical treatment and healthcare. The health service department at an eligible BOP facility are usually accredited by the Joint the commission, which is an independent, non-for profit organizations that emphasizes on the continuance of improvement in health care for the public by evaluating them and inspiring them to excel in providing a safe and effective care at the highest quality possible.
With this accredited shows that the federal bureau of prisons have a deep commitment to meeting certain standards that the joint commission has been recognized for. There are certain facilities such as the Care Level 1 prisons that are excluded from being accredited through the joint commission since they only house healthy inmates. They are also part of the American Correctional Association will also ensures to improving the practices of health care in the correctional environment is safe and effective. The ACA offers comprehensive services, support, and resources to help the facilities provide security and quality of care to the inmates. By employing personnel that are ACA certified that know that these people have the knowledge and the experience to provide the best possible care. Since the correctional health has continue to advance and grow the American Correctional Association has come to recognize the need to continuously update and improve the health care in all correctional facility by ensuring that all providers have the proper accreditations, certification to achieve their
goal. Health care and medical services are an essential part of everyday life and just because a person is an inmate does not mean that they do not deserve proper treatment. The Federal Bureau of Prison is there to ensure that everyone is being treated fair and safe. That people are getting what they need in order to live in an environment such as prison. Their main goal is to ensure that the inmates have many things to ensure that they remain healthy. The Federal Bureau of Prisons regulates many things in these facilities such as medical, nutrition, education on various health issues so everyone is aware. With the knowledge that the federal bureau of prisons has put into place and with the ever changing population growth and standards in the prison environment one thing that should remain the same is the idea that everyone deserves the proper care and hope that they continue to strive with accreditations, hiring the right people and physicians to ensure that everyone gets the treatment they deserve. The Federal Bureau of prison has a lot of challenges in the near future in regards to health care and the growing population in the correctional facilities but with the great desire to make sure that everyone has the best possible health care and treatment whether they are employees or inmates is a great stepping stone for improvement. With the great desire to make sure everything is within their guidelines and standards they have started to make sure all their facilities are accredited and that their physicians, psychologists, nurses and so forth are also certified and trained so that they can give the best possible care. By upholding their ideals and goals the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be able to protect society by confining offenders in their controlled environment such as prisons and community based facilities which will be safe and secure that will also provide work and other self-improvement opportunities.
It has a Board of Directors, it includes the Director, the Chief Executive Officer, the Deputy Director, the General Counsel and Review, the Executive Office, and the Program Review Division, then it branches off into the programs within the prison itself. These include the Administration Division, Health Services Division, Correctional Programs Division, Information, Policy, Public Affairs Divisions, Industries, Education, and Vocational Training Divisions, Reentry Services Division, and Human Resource Management Division. The Regional Offices are then listed and the Field Operations. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is run under the closed system model meaning all the resources are running within the prison, they have their own medical staff, correctional officers, education classes, and administration staff and policies. Each of these divisions has major functions such as the Population Management which proactively manages the prisoner population to ensure safe and secure operations. The Public Safety, National Security, and Inmate Programming which provides services and programs to address inmates needs, provides productive use of time activities, and help inmates with reintegration back into society. There is also a counterterrorism division which helps provide public safety and security by focusing on preventing, disrupting and responding to terrorist attacks within the prison (Organization
The United States is a nation with the largest prison population and crime rates in the world. When the governmental controlled facilities were in a deficit where they lacked funds and space could not house the inmates, private prisons were developed. Along with the solution of private of prisons, the controversy concerning the funding of health care, recovery and other expenses have been one of the fundamental concerns for the American Justice System. Both the private and public facilities came together and join a partnership where the government facility agreed to bear the expenses of healthcare and other medical exams, and the private facility would find spaces and funds to house inmates. However, to continuously gain profit, the sentencing
Unfortunately, this rush to develop and implement preventive measures has resulted in a degree of polarization which has hindered progress towards implementation of effective prevention measures. Prisons and jails offer uniquely important opportunities for improving disease control in the community by providing health care to disease prevention program to a large and concentrated population of individuals at high risk for disease. Inmates often have little interaction with the health care system before and after being incarcerated. (U.S. News & World Report) The bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that in 1999, HIV/AIDS in prisons and jails was a growing problem in American correctional facilities. The AIDS rate in US prisons was five times the rate of general population. (Society. 2003)
The system of the Prison Industrial Complex operates within the law. The law allows private companies to infiltrate the prison, while keeping prisoners in a subjugated position. The law, under the Eight Amendment obligates prison officials to provide prisoners with “adequate” medical care. This principle applies regardless of whether the medical care provided is by governmental employees or by private medical staff under contract with the government (Project, 2012). If prisoners believe they are being denied their constitutio...
When people think of reform movements, they often look for one key sign, and ask one key question of whether that the reform was a success. Did the reform create a lasting change in the way people view the institution that was reformed? All the great reformation movements, from Horace Mann and his education reforms, to Martin Luther, and the Protestant Reformation, to the civil rights movement, all created lasting change in the minds of the average person. One other reform, often overlooked historically is the Prison Reform movement. As the world shifted from 18th to 19th century ways of life, many key aspects of life underwent tremendous change. As the United States gained their independence from Britain and began to shape their own identity, the reforms and revolutions that occurred in this infantile stage of its history played an immeasurable impact on the future of the entire country, with the most notable and impact reform being the reformation of prisons from the 1820s until 1860.
To Health Service In Correctional Evironments: Inmates Health Care Measurement, Satisfaction and Access In Prisons.” Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 50.3. (2011): 262-274. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2014.
Correctional institutions in the country have made rehabilitation a top priority. Most prisons offer substance abuse, domestic violence, anger management, and sex offender treatment programs. All programs are staffed by a wide variety of counselors, certified instructors, and doctors. Correctional employees are required to attained training and some are selected to become certified in some of the counseling fields as well. "Research conducted by Doris MacKenzie and others find that rehabilitation programs that have shown to be effective" (Miceli,
Living in a prison for a long time becomes difficult for all inmates especially those who are mentally ill face stress when their environment suddenly becomes bars, harsh lights, and super maximum strict schedules. The inmates are forced to face the strict policies and conditions of custody in order to survive in the prison. These prolonged adaptations to the hardship and frustrations of life inside prison lead to certain psychological changes. Most of this inmates find it difficult to adjust in accordance with the prison rules. They get in trouble for destroying state property
There are many things that will affect you in prison. I’m going to give you several facts about how it will. My first topic is physical health. At the time of prison release, one half of men and two thirds of women reported having been diagnosed with a chronic physical health condition. Physical health status was assessed by asking respondents to note those conditions that a doctor or nurse had diagnosed them with. Table 3 shows full range of conditions that respondents were asked about their self-reported rates of illness for comparison purpose, these are displayed alongside national prevalence estimates for correctional populations developed by the National Commission on Correctional Health care. Asthma hepatitis infection
The overall goal of correctional facilities can be broken down into three main functions which are retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation of the inmates. Today, there is much debate on rather private or public prison admiration is best to suit those goals. In a private prison the inmates are contracted out to a third party from either local, state, or federal government agencies (Smith 2012). Public prisons are where the government themselves house and supply the inmate’s basic needs with no third party involved. However, a large portion of the argument of private verses public prisons is over, which is best in achieving those goals more efficiently.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation launch a public safety reforms to encourage inmates to complete rehabilitation programs. These programs are provided for the inmates to help high risk parolees to be able to come back to the communities. There are many programs that are given in and out of the incarceration. With these programs California’s prison population should gradually reduce about 6, 500 inmates over the next year (Public and Employee Communications, 2013 ). The advantage of rehabilitation is not just for the inmates but for the community as well. With the new parole system it created a new line of field supervision for field agents. It will reduce agent caseloads which gives agents a better opportunity to supervise parolees and interact more frequently with local law enforcement. Also, be able to assist the parolee’s by interacting more with rehabilitative service providers and other community partners (Public and Employee Communications, 2013). Rehabilitations of the parolees’ will consist of GPS supervision, increases monitoring system for sex offenders, and open jobs position for training officer and parole agents (Public and Employee Communications,2013). This is one of the advantages of rehabilitation in the community.
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague or correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exist in the majority of or state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numb...
A correctional officer is apart of a staff in a detention center, prison, or a jail that sets to accomplish the goals of the institution’s objectives by maintaining control and order within the prison (Seiter, 2011). While the role of a correctional officer is very crucial within a prison, depending on the unique role to a specific location, it is important that we understand that these humble and quiet guardians are in the correction facilities. Between the different criminal justice facilities, the mission and goals between them are vastly different, although there is very little contrast in the roles that correctional officers play in these facilities. Correctional officers are solely in charge of the direct and constant supervision of prisoners and administering the security procedures and protocols within a facility. These officers also need to be extremely well informed in the technical and interactive realm of the prison system as daily interactions with the inmate population requires them to have strict adherence to policies and a sharp attention to
This means that inmates are kept with minimal or no rehabilitation efforts. Within Oklahoma, parolees have no choice but to be deigned by the government if they are to be set free into the community again. Because finances are so limited within these prisons, they were forced to come up with an alternative. A low cost solution that they have come up with is to have other prison inmates trained to be orderly’s to work in the infirmary. This allows these inmates to help in providing care for the sick and elderly patients within the prison.
Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.