Award Winners Honored at 45th National Conference on Correctional Health Care

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The National Commission on Correctional Health Care's (NCCHC) annual awards pay tribute to leaders and innovators who have enriched the correctional health care field. This year's awards were presented November 1 during the opening ceremony of the National Conference on Correctional Health Care in Chicago.

R. Scott Chavez Facility of the Year. The South Woods State Prison in New Jersey has been named the R. Scott Chavez Facility of the Year. The award is presented to one facility selected from among all NCCHC-accredited facilities for outstanding quality, innovation, and dedication. South Woods State Prison is the largest and one of the newest facilities managed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections with a capacity to house more than 3000 incarcerated individuals, including some of the most critically ill in the state system. Despite its size, NCCHC surveyors noted that close collaboration between custody, health care, and mental health care creates a positive culture focused on high-quality, personalized care, provided by Rutgers University Correctional Health Care.

The Program of the Year Award. The Program of the Year Award recognizes programs of excellence among the thousands provided by accredited jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities. This year, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Falkenberg Road Jail in Tampa, Florida, was chosen for its Veterans Resurgence Program. In August 2019, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister launched the Veterans Resurgence Program, which focuses on providing incarcerated US military veterans with a supportive and constructive environment to help restore their dignity. In addition to receiving mental health and substance abuse treatment, participating veterans are housed together in a pod decorated with American flags and flags from each branch of the US military. Inspirational imagery painted by inmates covers the walls.

Bernard P. Harrison Award of Merit. The Bernard P. Harrison Award of Merit was presented to Richard Clarke, MD, for demonstrated excellence and service to advance the correctional health care field. For 20+ years Dr Clarke oversaw all health care at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, guiding that facility to NCCHC accreditation and to a Program of the Year Award for its innovative long-term care and discharge planning program. Dr Clarke remains highly involved with NCCHC and with the organization’s consulting arm, NCCHC Resources. An NCCHC physician surveyor for almost 20 years, he has been an active member of the surveyor advisory committee since its inception, served on the task forces that revised the 2014 and 2018 editions of the Standards for Health Services, and is a regular presenter of seminars on the standards.

B. Jaye Anno Award of Excellence. The B. Jaye Anno Award of Excellence pays tribute to innovative, well-executed communications that have had a positive impact on the field of correctional health care, or to individuals for bodies of work. This year the award was given to Deana Johnson, JD, for excellence in communications. Ms Johnson has nearly 30 years of correctional health care legal experience with over 20 years providing legal services for Centurion Health and MHM Services, Inc, Centurion’s cofounding company. She is a nationally recognized expert in correctional health law and a frequent—and very popular—presenter at NCCHC conferences.

Edward A. Harrison Award of Excellence in Correctional Health Care Leadership. Joel Andrade, PhD, LICSW, CCHP-MH, is the recipient of the first ever Edward A. Harrison Award of Excellence in Correctional Health Care Leadership. This award is presented to someone who leads by example, inspires others, and is committed to quality improvement in correctional health care. Dr Andrade has over 20 years of correctional and forensic health experience and is a nationally recognized mental health expert in the treatment and management of individuals with personality disorders and gender dysphoria in correctional settings. He is a published author and regular presenter/educator on the delivery of effective treatment for those populations. He is currently the senior director of behavioral health services at Centurion Health.

Young Professional Award. The Young Professional Award recognizes new and upcoming leaders in the field of correctional health care. This year’s winner is Nathaniel Morris, MD, attending psychiatrist at San Francisco Jail Behavioral Health Service and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He became inspired to pursue a career in correctional and forensic psychiatry during an elective rotation at Bellvue Hospital during medical school at Harvard University. Dr Morris has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and popular media. He hopes to help change views and treatment of incarcerated people with mental health issues, while also continuing to provide direct patient care.

NCCHC Surveyor of the Year. Donna Mayne, RN, CCHP, was named the NCCHC Surveyor of the Year. Ms Mayne served for nearly 2 decades as health services administrator for the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center in Virginia. Between supervising 23 health professionals, establishing chronic care clinics, developing nursing protocols, and implementing a new medical records system, she also found time to participate in NCCHC accreditation surveys. She became a lead surveyor soon after retiring and has devoted herself to that vocation ever since. When COVID-19 drove surveys to a more high-tech virtual format, Ms Mayne embraced the new technology and was soon training other surveyors on the process. Throughout the pandemic, she has been a leader in the number of virtual and hybrid surveys completed.

Congratulations to all the award winners!