Medically and Mentally Challenged Inmates - Essay Example

The Best Practices Managing medically and mentally challenged inmates is a headache for ities, and s are in constant struggle to find waysto manage them effectively without serious financial burden. One of the best practices to handle medically/mentally challenged inmates is to conduct a thorough preliminary health screening, which is already in practice in many correctional facilities. This involves conducting a thorough study of the history and character of the inmate to identify any possibility of suicidal tendency, other mental disorders or health issues.

Once identified with suicidal tendency, the inmate should be offered such cells or wards where 24-hour observation is possible. Similarly, those who are identified with medical issues should be housed separately so that they can be monitored more frequently than other general inmates. Secondly, the correctional staff is given training in various intervention procedures and a toolkit for first aid in emergencies. Even after initial screening, these people are able to observe the inmates closely and report any inmate’s exhibiting signs of physical or mental illness.

The third best practice is the strategy of utilization review. This means the appropriateness of the services and procedures offered to each inmate is periodically reviewed. This helps reduce the cost involved in offering unnecessary monitoring and treatment. Finally, it is clear that about 50% of all the diseases, injuries, and death in the United States are entirely preventable. Therefore, another best practice is to introduce preventive measures, including frequent health screenings, medicines and vaccines, health education campaigns, and checkups.

These practices will help correctional facilities better manage medically and mentally challenged inmates.