THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON NURSING IN PRISONS
(Through American and Canadian History)
Thomas Eddy was a warden in the New York City Newgate
Prison and believed that inmates could be rehabilitated and thus
established a school and the very first prison hospital and pharmacy in
the prison (ANA, 2013). This embarked the beginning of correctional and
or prison nursing in America in 1797 (ANA, 2013).
Throughout the 1800’s, Dorothea Lynde Dix was a nurse that strongly advocated for the mentally ill and prisoner initiated reform in the correctional/prison setting (ANA, 2013). She traveled throughout the country to evaluate the effectiveness of various prison systems. Her work discusses that she wanted the government to implement educating the inmates as well as separating various types of offenders in 1845 (ANA, 2013). |
The United States Supreme Court case decision of Estelle v. Gamble (1976) gave the judicial recognition that inmates have the right for healthcare (ANA, 2013). This decision led to the following amendments to the constitutional rights for inmates related to health care:
• The right to access care - There must be a capacity to deal with medical emergencies and provide needed healthcare, including continuation of medical management established prior to incarceration (ANA, 2013).
• The right to professional judgment - As a follow-up to access to healthcare, once treatment is ordered by a healthcare professional, that care is to be provided without undue delay (ANA, 2013).
• The right to prescribed healthcare treatment - The concept of access to care involves the nature and timing of the care which is provided by qualified individuals using appropriate equipment, in conducive locations, and for purely medical reasons (ANA, 2013).
Thus, November 1976 is considered the official start of the profession of correctional nursing due to the establishment of the right for inmates to receive healthcare (Schoenly, 2011). Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers in the correctional setting who play a vital role in providing care that is ethical and meets acceptable minimal standards (ANA, 2013). Rena Murtha was a pioneer in correctional nursing and described the correctional environment for nurses was portrayed negatively and that nurses were perceived to be slaves of the physician, have unprofessional relationships with the warden and unknown to the patient (ANA, 2013). However, since then correctional nursing practice has expanded into various scopes of essential care like primary health care, mental health services, hospice, telemedicine, geriatrics, discharge planning, chronic care management, and management & administration (ANA, 2013). Today’s correctional nurse is a valued and respected member of the correctional healthcare team and demonstrates passion, devotion, and advocacy in caring for this under served population that is usually forgotten by the public (ANA, 2013).
• The right to access care - There must be a capacity to deal with medical emergencies and provide needed healthcare, including continuation of medical management established prior to incarceration (ANA, 2013).
• The right to professional judgment - As a follow-up to access to healthcare, once treatment is ordered by a healthcare professional, that care is to be provided without undue delay (ANA, 2013).
• The right to prescribed healthcare treatment - The concept of access to care involves the nature and timing of the care which is provided by qualified individuals using appropriate equipment, in conducive locations, and for purely medical reasons (ANA, 2013).
Thus, November 1976 is considered the official start of the profession of correctional nursing due to the establishment of the right for inmates to receive healthcare (Schoenly, 2011). Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers in the correctional setting who play a vital role in providing care that is ethical and meets acceptable minimal standards (ANA, 2013). Rena Murtha was a pioneer in correctional nursing and described the correctional environment for nurses was portrayed negatively and that nurses were perceived to be slaves of the physician, have unprofessional relationships with the warden and unknown to the patient (ANA, 2013). However, since then correctional nursing practice has expanded into various scopes of essential care like primary health care, mental health services, hospice, telemedicine, geriatrics, discharge planning, chronic care management, and management & administration (ANA, 2013). Today’s correctional nurse is a valued and respected member of the correctional healthcare team and demonstrates passion, devotion, and advocacy in caring for this under served population that is usually forgotten by the public (ANA, 2013).
The ANA published “Scope of Nursing Practice in Correctional Facilities” which is the standard guidelines for correctional nursing in 1985 (Puisis, 2006). The purpose of this standard is to provide guidance to the professional nurse working in a correctional facility both at a basic and advanced practice level (Puisis, 2006). The underlying philosophy of this standard is that healthcare provided to incarcerated people should be equivalent to the community standard in terms of accessibility, availability, and quantity (Puisis, 2006).
In 1998, the International Council of Nurses adopted a position statement regarding the nurses role in the care of prisoners which stated that inmates have the right to healthcare and humane treatment (Puisis, 2006).
Correctional Nursing in Canada
In 1835, the first Canadian penitentiary opened in Kingston, Ontario (Ekstedt & Griffiths,1988). The Correctional Services of Canada (CSC), have been working towards improving healthcare delivery in correctional facilities over the years. CSC’s first wide scale public health program was introduced in 1982 to combat the spread of tuberculosis which led to the transformation of infectious disease protocols for HIV/AIDS, Avian flu and the preparation for H1N1 flu outbreaks (Bergeron, 2012). The CSC then introduced it’s first registered nurses at Collins Bay Institution in Kingston Ontario in 1974 (Bergeron, 2012). The CSC’s mandate is established through Section 86 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (1992), which states that the CSC will provide every inmate with essential healthcare and non-essential mental healthcare that will contribute to the inmate’s rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community and that the provision of health care shall conform to professionally accepted standards (Correctional Service Canada, 2012). CSC’s mission has been to provide offenders with efficient, effective health services that encourage individual responsibility, promote healthy reintegration, and contribute to safe communities (Correctional Service Canada, 2012).
Correctional healthcare has been called the “last frontier” of the healthcare system (Puisis, 2006). In many respects, nurses are still charting their way in this challenging and complex environment. Schools of nursing have not yet fully addressed the needs of this population by offering challenging programs that prepare nursing students for careers in corrections (Puisis, 2006). Nurses practice on the front line of correctional healthcare and operate with a degree of autonomy not found in traditional nursing (Puisis, 2006). By promoting quality of care for patients in correctional institutions, nurses fulfill the commitment of the profession to provide services with compassion and respect for the dignity of all human beings.
In 1835, the first Canadian penitentiary opened in Kingston, Ontario (Ekstedt & Griffiths,1988). The Correctional Services of Canada (CSC), have been working towards improving healthcare delivery in correctional facilities over the years. CSC’s first wide scale public health program was introduced in 1982 to combat the spread of tuberculosis which led to the transformation of infectious disease protocols for HIV/AIDS, Avian flu and the preparation for H1N1 flu outbreaks (Bergeron, 2012). The CSC then introduced it’s first registered nurses at Collins Bay Institution in Kingston Ontario in 1974 (Bergeron, 2012). The CSC’s mandate is established through Section 86 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (1992), which states that the CSC will provide every inmate with essential healthcare and non-essential mental healthcare that will contribute to the inmate’s rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community and that the provision of health care shall conform to professionally accepted standards (Correctional Service Canada, 2012). CSC’s mission has been to provide offenders with efficient, effective health services that encourage individual responsibility, promote healthy reintegration, and contribute to safe communities (Correctional Service Canada, 2012).
Correctional healthcare has been called the “last frontier” of the healthcare system (Puisis, 2006). In many respects, nurses are still charting their way in this challenging and complex environment. Schools of nursing have not yet fully addressed the needs of this population by offering challenging programs that prepare nursing students for careers in corrections (Puisis, 2006). Nurses practice on the front line of correctional healthcare and operate with a degree of autonomy not found in traditional nursing (Puisis, 2006). By promoting quality of care for patients in correctional institutions, nurses fulfill the commitment of the profession to provide services with compassion and respect for the dignity of all human beings.