HAMPDEN COUNTY CORRECTIONAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH PROGRAM (MA)

Program Description
The Hampden County Correctional and Community Health Program uses a public health model for preventing, detecting, and treating various health concerns among jail inmates at the Hampden County Correctional Center (HCCC). The model was originally created to provide continuity of care for inmates with HIV before, during, and after incarceration. It has since been expanded to include medical, dental, and hospice care, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment. This public health model of correctional health care involves the following components: thorough disease screening and detection, early and effective treatment, patient education, prevention, and continuity of care after release.

The program staff includes four jail health teams integrated with four community health centers. Patients are assigned to a health team by zip code or prior association with a community health center. Some team members are dually based in the jail and the community; physicians and HIV case managers are primarily health center based; and nurses and nurse practitioners are primarily jail based. The physician and case manager continue to follow patients at the community health centers after their release from jail so that an inmate's physician in jail becomes his/ her physician in the community. Case managers from the health centers work in both the community and the correctional center to develop individual discharge plans for HIV-infected inmates. In addition to the medical services, the case managers also work with returning prisoners to address housing needs, vocational training, family reintegration, and other services.

Program Goals
The goals of the program are to reduce the incidence of high-risk behaviors among returning prisoners, increase their general health knowledge, and improve their overall health status and health care utilization. Program partners also hope to see a reduction in criminal activity among the participants.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
The Hampden County project is a collaborative effort between the county jail, four community health centers, and other agencies in Hampden County, Massachusetts, which allows the same health care providers to care for patients in jail and after release in the community.

Outcomes
The HCCC and Abt Associates are conducting a three-year evaluation of the Hampden Health Program. The goal of the research is to examine whether the program model results in any significant changes in health care utilization, risk behavior, clinical status, and criminal activity among individuals after their release from HCCC. Initial findings indicate that the program is cost-effective, leads to lower rates of reincarceration, and increases the number of released prisoners receiving medical care.

Additional Reading
T. Conklin, T. Lincoln, and T. Flanigan. 1998. "A Public Health Model to Connect Correctional Health Care with Communities." American Journal of Public Health 88(8): 1249-50.

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