AOCOPM 2024 Midyear Educational Conference-346719

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Lynn Thickem, a seasoned correctional healthcare expert, provided an overview of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's healthcare system. With a career starting in 1986 at Huntsville Prison, she has been pivotal in transforming the prison healthcare framework amidst extensive overcrowding and poor healthcare conditions, best exemplified by the historic Ruiz lawsuit. In response to these challenges, the department shifted to a Correctional Managed Healthcare model, a partnership with Texas academic health science centers, notably the University of Texas Medical Branch and Texas Tech University. This collaboration facilitates a comprehensive statewide healthcare network aimed at maintaining constitutional healthcare standards for the prison population, which has grown dramatically to over 130,000 inmates across 100 facilities. The model effectively utilizes resources from state universities, balancing health service delivery with cost control while enhancing access and quality of care. Dr. Thickem emphasized the critical integration of correctional and medical expertise, fostering mutual respect and collaboration between academia and criminal justice, enabling enhanced care delivery, efficiency, and improved inmate health outcomes.

Keywords

Correctional Managed Healthcare

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Dr. Lynn Thickem

prison healthcare

University of Texas Medical Branch

Texas Tech University

Ruiz lawsuit