Probation Department NCCHC Accreditation

Three years ago, the San Bernardino County Probation Department voluntarily sought and achieved the distinguished honor of accreditation for its juvenile detention center’s healthcare program by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). NCCHC is the nation’s leading accreditation authority for health services in detention facilities. Last month, the department was required to submit to re-inspection audits to renew accreditation. Following a lengthy process, auditors said the Probation Department’s detention healthcare facility operates like a well-oiled machine. The San Bernardino County Probation Department is the only probation department in the state that is accredited by the NCCHC. The commission renders professional judgment and assists in the improvement of provided health services. The NCCHC imposes 70 standards that are defined as recommendations for managing the delivery of medical and mental health care in correctional systems. These standards are to serve as a framework to ensure systems, policies and procedures are in line with nationally recognized best practices. Some of those standards include management of chronic diseases, a peer review process and dental services. “With the aspiration to provide healthcare equivalent to or exceeding community standards, the Probation Department approached the NCCHC, which requires the maximum standards for correctional facilities,” said Acting Health Services Manager Carlos Peace. In July 2011, the Department received the prestigious and nationally recognized accreditation from the NCCHC. “The organization conducts a survey of the detention and treatment facilities every three years to evaluate compliance with those 70 standards,” Peace said. They had their first official re-inspection survey following the initial 2011 accreditation this year. During the renewal process, auditors reviewed several Universal Health Records (UHRs), department plans, policies and procedures, quality improvement reports and logs and conducted multiple interviews with staff and youth. Auditors spent four days in the facilities looking at the overall healthcare system and came up with their conclusion. Following the recent re-inspection for accreditation, officials in the Probation Department were told that the facilities are beautiful and clean and that there is excellent communication and integration between health care and correctional staff. “It is very apparent that the youth receive care above and beyond community standards,” auditors said. The auditors concluded the report with the statement, “Your department runs like a Swiss Army watch, very finely tuned.” “There are a few things the Department can improve upon,” Peace said. “We were great on most of the standards,” he related. “Out of the 70, there were only a few essential standards we need to fine tune for improvement.” “The next survey will be performed in 2017 and medical staff look forward to continuous improvement in the health care we offer,” Peace reported. The Probation Department’s Juvenile Detention and Assessment Centers offer services to detained youth. Some of the youth lack education in regards to healthcare and the ability to utilize community resources to obtain health services. “It is our practice to improve the health of the youth before they return to the community, increase the efficiency of health services delivery, and reduce the risk of adverse patient outcomes,” Peace said following the recent accreditation. “Our youth return to the community having received ‘above and beyond’ healthcare, health care education and knowledge on how to access community health resources.”