The Ontario County Jail Medical Unit has again earned accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care by demonstrating compliance with NCCHC’s nationally recognized standards of care for correctional health services in jails.
Reaccreditation recognizes The Ontario County Jail Medical Unit’s ongoing commitment to providing quality health services for the incarcerated population. The Medical Unit was first accredited in 2008 and has maintained its commitment to meeting the requirements described in NCCHC’s standards for 15 consecutive years.
To maintain NCCHC accreditation, the Ontario County Jail Medical Unit underwent a rigorous professional assessment in October 2023. During the assessment, a team of experienced physicians and experts in correctional health care surveyed the facility for compliance with jail-specific standards in several areas such as patient care and treatment, health promotion, safety and disease prevention, governance and administration, personnel and training, special needs and services, and medical-legal issues.
The Ontario County Jail is a 282-bed correctional facility with an average daily population of 90 individuals over the last year. The incarcerated population in our facility and across the state continues to increase in complexity as those committed to our facilities struggle with addiction and mental health conditions.
“We have a constitutional obligation to provide health care to those incarcerated in our jail, and we are committed to doing so with innovation, excellence, and efficiency. For 45 years, NCCHC’s highly respected standards have provided guidance to help correctional health professionals and administrators improve the health of their incarcerated populations and the communities to which they return, increase the efficiency of health services delivery, strengthen organizational effectiveness, and reduce the risk of adverse legal judgments. The consensus-based standards are developed in consultation with national experts in correctional health care, mental health, law, and corrections,” Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione
“In continuing to achieve NCCHC accreditation, the Ontario County Jail Medical Unit has demonstrated its commitment to quality, standards-based correctional health care,” said Deborah Ross, CCHP, NCCHC chief executive officer. “Accreditation is a voluntary process, and we commend the Ontario County Jail Medical Unit for successfully maintaining this distinction. The health of incarcerated people is a vitally important component of public health.”
