Prison Health Needs Higher Priority in Indiana

Nursing homes are the leading cause of COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths. Nursing homes provide complete support for people at very high risk of severe coronavirus illness and death, including community life, new viruses that are highly infectious, asymptomatic infections, and elderly people with chronic health conditions. It’s Arashi.

There is another congregational population with vulnerable individuals in a crowded state, this is also a brew pot for the COVID-19 outbreak: a correctional facility.

Not only do these outbreaks affect prisoners and staff, they can reach the community and overwhelm our health care system. With the exception of some well-known individuals who have been released from prison for the risk of coronaviruses, the issue of correctional facilities has received relatively little attention. At least 10 of the 15 largest coronavirus “clusters” occurred in correctional facilities.

For example, in Ohio, the Marian Correctional Facility generated more than 2,400 cases. In Indiana, National Guard was deployed in Westville Prison during the outbreak of COVID-19. No prison Indiana data are available, but as of June, 323 state prison officials and 715 inmates were tested for coronavirus positivity (only 7% tested). Two staff and 20 imprisoned people died. More than 44,000 infectious diseases and 462 deaths occurred nationwide between prisoners and correctional personnel.

Most prisons and prisons have sub-optimal health care services and are plagued by at-risk groups, including the elderly and many with chronic illness. Many are African-Americans and other minorities, who are over-affected by the COVID-19 crisis, including employment of essential services, poverty, and increased chronic illness. Prisons also generally lack the resources for testing and mitigating COVID-19.

It is virtually impossible to stay socially located in overcrowded prisons or prisons, or in institutions where the coronavirus is not designed to meet the living conditions necessary to prevent the spread of the infection.

In addition to improving health care and living conditions, the necessary reforms include reducing hospital admissions to correctional facilities and increasing emissions to reduce population density. We should focus on medically vulnerable prisoners and prisoners with non-violent crimes and other crimes that did not threaten public safety. Older prisoners and those with chronic illnesses are more likely to be seriously ill and require in-hospital services such as paramedics and ventilator care.

Since one-third of those incarcerated are in short-term, local prisons, “prison termination” promotes infections through admission and release traffic and spreads to the community. Hospitalization reduction strategies include reclassifying non-public security accused as non-confinement crimes, using citations rather than arrests for misdemeanors, and diverting mental health and substance abuse treatment where possible. included. Similarly, reducing parole and probation withdrawals for “technical” breaches such as curfew breaches and drug test failures will greatly help reduce the number of orthodontic populations.

Detention at home, parole, parole, community service, and even commuting are alternatives to imprisonment.

Indiana has not yet released one prisoner to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Some states, including Kentucky, are developing release programs for COVID-19.

The public has little interest in prison health, and politicians do not win elections on the basis of their defense for those who upset society. However, correctional facilities are not isolated from the entire community of inmates, staff, vendors, and visitors entering and leaving these facilities, and may serve as a vehicle for the expansion of the COVID-19 community.

How we treat prisoners is a measure of the humanity of our society. The action is justified. If not for them, then we should do it for the public good.

Dr. Richard Feldman was the family doctor of Indianapolis and former director of the Indiana Department of Health. Send a comment to [email protected]