Jessica Jones
HCS/430
March 16, 2015
Brenda Wright
Prison Health Care Agency Paper
The national health care expenditures in the United States are excessive. High health care prices are the main reason for excessive health care spending in the United States. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) the United States is 5% of the World population and has 25% of world prisoners. The 25% of detainees are a combination of those in penitentiary, jail and those on parole or probation supervision. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is an agency responsible for the management of the federal prison structure. BOP’s task is to “protect public safety by ensuring that federal …show more content…
offenders serve their sentences of imprisonment in facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and provide reentry programming to ensure their successful return to the community”(Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2014).
The following paper will explain the role and impact of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the agency’s impact on health care. BOP’s duties as well as what regulatory authority the bureau has in relation to health and the organization’s process for accreditation, certification, and authorization will be clarified.
Agency’s Role
When prisons were established in the 16th and 17th centuries they were created for those whom exhibited criminal behaviour. These individuals were placed on display to the public which is where they were shamed and humiliated by the townspeople. The punishment these criminals faced were the ducking stool, which was a chair the offender was tied to and then dunked into the water, the pillory which was a device made out of wood or metal attached to a post that consisted of holes used for the wrist and the neck. Physical punishments consisted of whippings, branding and stocks. During this century many other offences was death. The Federal prison system was not established until the 1890’s.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was established in 1930 and linked with the Department of Justice. BOP is located in Washington, D.C., and currently employs 39,105 employees and oversees 216, 073 inmates, 6 district offices, 2 staff teaching bases and 28 public corrections offices. The organization covers the management of the 11 Federal prisons. The agency is accountable for the administration of the federal prison system and is accountable for the safekeeping and care of the federal convicts whom are imprisoned in government facilities. BOP’s goals are to decrease future illegal doings by inspiring prisoners towards the partaking in an array of settings that have been confirmed to aid the incarcerated embrace a crime-free regime once they are released into the community.
Impact on Health Care In 1933, the first BOP medical facility was created, and the organization partner with the United Stated Public Health Service. To governor the growing cost of health care, BOP has implemented programs targeted at delivering more proficient and operational prisoners health care. There are four stages in which BOP provides medical CARE grouping system. CARE level 1 manages inmates younger than 70 years old whom are well but might have imperfect medical requirements, for example, stable HIV patients. CARE level 2 prisoners are stable out-patients who require quarterly evaluations, for example those with mental health issues. CARE level 3 convicts are very fragile outpatients who require assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing and eating. These patients have advanced HIV, end-stage liver disease, and congestive heart failure. CARE level 4 inmates need amenities only offered at a BOP Medical Referral Center (MRC) which delivers heightened medical services. These convicts need 24- hour nursing assistance. They may have cancer, be on dialysis, pregnant, or have had a stroke or head injury.
The Health Services Division is overseen by RADM Newton E. Kendig, M.D., who operates as both Medical Director and HSD Assistant Director for the Federal of Prison Bureau. Mr. Kendig is in charge of the for medical, dental, and mental health amenities that are delivered to the Federal prisoners. Other forms of health services the inmates receive include health care delivery, transferable disease management, and medical designations. Common diseases among the inmates are substance abuse, mental illness, and chronic medical conditions, especially viral infections. These inmates rely solely on the prison system for their medical care.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons affords health care amenities to prisoners mainly through in-house medical providers working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons or assigned to the BOP from the Public Health Service, contracted medical providers who deliver both complete care and individual services. ‘Spending per inmate has soared from $33,000 in 1995 to $60,000 today, an 82.3 percent increase accounting for inflation” (Dean, 2013).
Duties of the Agency
As time has exceeded and by-laws have altered, the Bureau 's responsibilities have increased, as has the prison residents. As part of these duties, the BOP is responsible of the management and regulations of all Federal penal and correctional institutions, they are also in-charge of providing suitable quarters and the safekeeping of all persons charged or convicted of offenses against the United States. BOP furthermore delivers technical support to State, tribal, and local governments in the improvement of their correctional systems, and they deliver medical health care to prisoners in agreement with applicable principles of care. The Federal Bureau of Prisons also runs notice of release of detainees and establishes prerelease preparation procedures to help the prisoners apply for Federal and State benefits. BOP creates reentry development procedures that incorporate the convicts with material on health and nutrition, employment, reading material and education, personal finance and release obligations and measures.
Regulatory Authority in Relations to Health Care
A regulatory agency is a populace specialist or government group accountable for exercising independent consultant of human actions in a governing or controlling volume. An independent regulatory organization is a regulatory agency that is self-governing from other branches of the administration. Regulatory agencies handle different area of administrative law regulation or rules.
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an organization of the United States Department of Labor.
Congress started the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and on December 29, 1970 President Richard Nixon signed the act into a law. OSHA 's duty is to guarantee a safe and sound functioning environment for the working men and women by arranging and applying principles that provide guidance, outreach, instruction and assistance. The group is widely known for enforcing a variation of whistleblower laws and guidelines.The Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice strategies are required due to the extensive safety measures that must be met as well as the safety and health program established in the Federal Prison by OSHA. “The Bureau of Prisons considers that Federal inmates have 24 hour a day protection under its safety and health program. In addition, the Federal Bureau of Prisons applies OSHA safety and health standards to inmates” (United States Department of Labor, …show more content…
2014).
Process for Accreditation
In order to be eligible for accreditation, an agency must be part of a governmental entity or be consistent with to the applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations concerning corporate existence.
Health Services departments and all eligible Federal Bureau Prison institutions are accredited by the Joint Commission. The national criteria and operation of the accreditation process is the American Correctional Association 's (ACA) greatest strong suit. In the course of qualification, an bureau is capable to preserve a balance between shielding the community, and delivering an atmosphere that defends the lifespan, wellbeing and protection of personnel and lawbreakers. Criteria set by ACA indicate everyday modern rules and methods, and operates as an administration tool for more than 1,500 correctional organizations in the United States.
The Standards and Accreditation Department (ACA) functions as a twofold task. They provide services for ACA and the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections (CAC). “These services include the development and promulgation of new standards, revision of existing standards, coordination of the accreditation process for all correctional components of the criminal justice system, semi-annual accreditation hearings, technical assistance to correctional agencies, and training for consultants” (ACA, 2014) for those participating in the accreditation
progression.
Conclusion
With 25% of the United States society being detainees, I am happy that these individuals receive medical health care and not forgotten due to them being isolated. Health care is at a National all time high and I believe that if early preventative health measurement where established in our nation, we as a society could save lives and also a significant amount of money. The following paper has explained the roles and impact of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the agency’s impact on health care. BOP’s duties as well as what regulatory authority of the bureau in relation to health and the organization’s process for accreditation was also justified.
References
ACA, (2014). Standards & Accreditation. Retrieved from: https://www.aca.org/standards/
Dean, C., (2013). CA spending per inmate rising faster than spending per child.
Retrieved from: http://ivn.us/2013/08/12/ca-prison-problems-preventable-with-regular-investment-in-upkeep/
Federal Bureau of Prisons, (2014). About our agency. Retrieved from: http://www.bop.gov/about/agency/
NAACP, (2014). Criminal justice fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet
United States of Labor, (2014). Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
Retrieved from: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=1678