219605 Caring for aging and infirm prison inmates

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Lester Wright, MD, MPH , Division of Health Services, New York State Department of Correctional Services, Albany, NY
Inmates age earlier than is common in the community because of inadequate medical care before incarceration and greater use of alcohol and substances of abuse. The number of inmates in New York State prisons who are 55 years or older has more than doubled in the past ten years. This has resulted from longer sentences including life without parole and better health care. The death rate for inmates in this age group has fallen. These inmates require more extensive care for chronic diseases. It is estimated that care of elderly inmates costs up to three times as much as for younger inmates. To provide for health care needs, New York provides age-specific health screening based on national guidelines and has organized primary health care including chronic disease case management clinics. Regional Medical Units provide long term and chronic care. Compassionate release is provided whenever inmates meet the statutory requirements. Hospice services utilizing carefully selected inmate hospice aides are available to who are dying. A Unit for the Cognitively Impaired provides care for inmates with dementia from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Planning is underway for assisted living units. Thus a spectrum of age-appropriate care is available to provide essential health care for aging inmates. Although every effort is being made to deliver the care as efficiently as possible, costs will continue to increase as the number of aging inmates increases.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Advocacy for health and health education
Program planning
Public health administration or related administration

Learning Objectives:
Discuss demographic trends in incarcerated populations. Identify adaptations required by aging and infirm inmates. Describe programs that have been implemented to meet the needs of aging and infirm inmates.

Keywords: Aging, Prisoners Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer of New York State Department of Correctional Services and am responsible for providing necessary health services to nearly 60,000 inmates in 67 State prisons.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.