The standardized unit delivers preventive, ambulatory, emergency, acute, and chronic care and health education to inmates/youth residing in correctional facilities. Medical, psychiatric, nursing, dental, and optometric care as well as pharmaceuticals, therapy (physical, occupational, and communication), medical appliances, and diagnostics (laboratory and x-ray) is provided.

Offenders receive a health screening and record review when transferred from one facility to another. Preventative care is provided via screenings for communicable and chronic diseases and immunizations against communicable diseases. Offenders access health care via appointments either offender initiated (which generates a co-payment charge) or provider initiated. Staff provides emergency care on site or transport the offender via state vehicle or ambulance to an outside emergency room or to our contractual specialty and inpatient care providers. Acute care is provided by appointment and may result in transfer to the Infirmary at Dodge Correctional Institution or a hospital or clinic for specialty or inpatient care including surgical procedures. Chronic care is provided through appointments with on site or off site health care providers. Health education is provided to offenders in prevention, medical conditions, care and treatment.

Specialized health care is provided at the Dodge Correctional Institution and consists of admissions, infirmary care, and hemodialysis.

Each admission is provided with an examination and evaluation of their health care status. All adults report to Dodge Correctional Institution and are seen by the staff in the Primary Care Unit. The three juvenile facilities do their own admission procedures on site. A history and physical including laboratory tests, tests for communicable diseases, and x-rays is done. A medical record including medical, dental, optometric, and psychological documentation is started for each offender and follows them throughout their incarceration providing information to all health care providers regarding the offender. Pharmaceuticals are provided if needed for the offender’s medical condition. Vision is tested and glasses are provided if needed via state contract. A complete dental examination with x-rays and a dental plan of care id done. Medical and dental classifications are done for the use of the Program Review Committee to determine housing and program assignments for the offender.

The Hemodialysis Unit provides hemodialysis to a maximum of eighteen adult male offenders.

Treatment is provided on site by nurses trained in hemodialysis. A contractual nephrologist makes regular site visits and oversees the treatment of offenders with end stage renal disease.

Adult offenders needing twenty-four hour nursing care as an inpatient reside in the Infirmary at Dodge. The Infirmary provides a level of care between that of housing units with no twenty-four hour medical staff and that of a hospital. The Infirmary has room for sixty-four offenders, eight beds for females, and five negative pressure cells.

Offenders residing in minimum-security correctional centers receive health care via on site staff, either contractual or LTE nurses and physicians, or utilizing community health care providers. Nurses conduct sick call and triage complaints making arrangements for further care as needed. The Correctional Center Health Care Unit provides direction and oversight to this program.

Three units located at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun provide specialized services for the entire Department.

Pharmacy services receives prescriptions from all facilities, packages drugs in blister packs for security purposes, and sends the pharmaceuticals via UPS to the HSU drug rooms for further processing and distribution by the health care staff. The Department purchases pharmaceuticals via a multi-group agreement negotiated by DOA resulting in less than retail cost for the pharmaceuticals used. Corrections has a drug Formulary and an active Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

Central Medical Records maintains medical records of offenders who have left the system. Medical Records Technicians manage records, establish new records for admissions, and respond to requests for information from community care providers, attorneys, governmental agencies, etc.

All facilities with contracts for housing inmates both in state (county jails) and out of state (CCA—Minnesota, and Oklahoma) are monitored by the Health Care Monitoring Unit. The Nursing Consultant makes announced and unannounced visits to monitor and audit the care given.

The Department has Clinical Directors in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, and dentistry to oversee the practice of the employees, develop programs for care delivery, and monitor the cost of the programs. Prior authorization of all off site non-emergency services is done by the Clinical Directors for their areas with the use of Nursing Specialists utilizing a system similar to that of HMOs in local communities.

To further address specialty needs of offenders in a cost-effective manner, on site clinics have been established for orthopedics, and oral surgery. Offenders are transported for appointments from nearby facilities reducing our trips to off site care providers. Telemedicine is being operationalized at adult facilities to eliminate the need for transportation and escort to off site health care providers for specialty consultation.