SPRINGFIELD, VT — A national organization accredited the health care offered at eight of the state's nine prisons, which has been the subject of sharp criticism and lawsuits during the past several years.

The only state prison not accredited, the state's newest prison in Springfield — the 350-bed Southern State Correctional Facility — hasn't been reviewed yet because it hasn't been open yet for three years, according to Rob Hofmann, commissioner of corrections.

Hofmann said the report from the National Commission of Correctional Health Care was an "outside voice" that evaluated the changes Gov. James Douglas' administration has made in the past couple of years to answer serious questions about mental health and health care of the state's 1,700 in-state inmates.

"This came about because of a cooperative effort between corrections staff, caseworkers, staff, guards and the medical staff and Prison Health Services," Hofmann said, referring to the company that took over health care services in 2004.

"With all the challenges and bumps in the road we've had over the years, this is a confidence builder and reaffirmation," he said.

Prison Health Services of Brentwood, Tenn., replaced Correctional Medical Services.

A.J. Rubin, an attorney with the federally funded Vermont Protection & Advocacy Agency had a different point of view.

Rubin said in the past studies have shown no correlation between accreditation and improved services. "This is no guarantee of improvements," he said. At best it is an acknowledgment of the "bare minimum" of services, he said.

"That's not the end of the story," he said. "We are always concerned about confined individuals with disabilities."

The state pays PHS $9.5 million a year — $479 per inmate per month — and the state's average health care premium payment is $800,000 a month.

Hofmann said the cost of providing health care to the Vermont inmates serving their sentences in Kentucky was included in the state's contract with Corrections Corp. of America.

Dr. Susan Wehry, the department's medical director, who works for the state and not PHS, called the national commission's accreditation "another pair of eyes" evaluating the care.

Wehry said the transition year from the former provider to Prison Health Services was "very rocky." She said Vermont's inmates have easy access to health care and "they take advantage of it."

She said inmates have access to health care from a nurse 24 hours a day. She said inmates can and do file grievances over their health care, often over the type of medication that is prescribed for them, and how quickly they are seen.

In the first quarter of 2005, there were 24 health-care grievances, while by the fourth quarter that number declined to 15, she said.

"There was a decline, but it's not statistically significant," she said, noting there wasn't enough data to draw firm conclusions.

Wehry said physicians in the community are under contract with Prison Health Services and provide the services to the inmates. For instance, she said, the Springfield prison gets 20 hours a week of physician time in three six-hour days.

The Rutland prison, which at 145 beds is substantially smaller than the Springfield prison, gets eight hours per week of physician care.

Springfield has many of the special units for inmates with mental health issues, as well as the state's prison infirmary, she said.