“Do I Even Need a Health Care Unit?”
This question was recently asked by a jail administrator during a training and was such a good question that it deserves its own blog. This question is so great because the answer is: it depends. Generally, the county must provide those who are incarcerated in the jail access to health care. When you get specific, things become more grey.
Incarcerated individuals are the only population with a constitutional right to health care.¹ The Supreme Court outlined these constitutional rights in Estelle v. Gamble (1976). You can read more about this case here. In their verdict, the Court established that incarcerated individuals have the right to…
Access health care services
Competent health care opinion
Have practitioner orders followed
Some states have specific mandates for on-site medical care, including requirements for health care units in the jail. Each state’s mandates differ.
For example, some states do not mandate on-site medical care, but have specific provisions for providing and furnishing access to care. States’ Department of Corrections (DOC) typically release minimum standards for correctional facilities to give guidelines for how to provide detainees their Constitutional right to health care.
It is important to know your state’s laws to ensure your site-specific health care policies are compliant. Many states require jails to have policies beyond just providing access to care. Some states mandate 24/7 nursing, on-call practitioners, and specific equipment requirements. This checklist was designed to help jails evaluate the health care services they are providing to their incarcerated population.
For more information, please contact training@sparktraining.us.
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976). www.oyez.org/cases/1976/75-929.
Disclaimer
All materials have been prepared for general information purposes only. The information presented should be treated as guidelines, not rules. The information presented is not intended to establish a standard of medical care and is not a substitute for common sense. The information presented is not legal advice, is not to be acted on as such, may not be current, and is subject to change without notice. Each situation should be addressed on a case-by-case basis. When in doubt, send them out!®