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| From rookies to vets |
| By Sarah Etter, News Reporter |
| Published: 11/13/2006 |
Last week, Corrections.com caught up with Edward Harrison, the President of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care for sneak preview of the 31st Annual NCCHC Conference (Haunts and health at NCCHC, 10/30). This week, reporter Sarah Etter covers the topics and information shared. 
From hospice programs to tuberculosis, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care had it all at its recent conference. Whether it was about improving leadership skills or learning about lesions, dentists, doctors, psychiatrists, registered nurses and more filled the Atlanta venue to increase their knowledge and network with fellow practitioners. Corrections.com spoke with Margaret Collatt, a Registered Nurse for the Oregon DOC, Ellen Murray, a training specialist and nurse for the SouthEastern National Tuberculosis Center, and Joe Woddail, Medical Doctor Associate's president, about their experiences. Corrections.com: How many years have you been attending NCCHC? Collatt: For fifteen years. I keep going back for networking, to get ideas about programming, and to see old friends. Murray: I've been going for the last ten, and I actually presented at the conference about seven years ago. I usually focus on TB updates and I did a presentation called Breathing Beyond the Bars' about TB and how to look for TB in officers and not just inmates. Woddail: I would say about six or seven years. We provide physician temporary staffing. We also offer primary care and psychiatry, as well as nurse practitioner services. We go to meet with potential customers and visit fellow vendors. CC: What was this year's highlight? Collatt: The keynote speaker was excellent. She had the courage to stand up and tell her own story about her work in corrections and her starting the NCCHC. There was a workshop on hospice and leadership, and that was important for me. Murray: I enjoy the networking tremendously. Dr. Leonard's TB presentation was awesome. The pre-session that focused on infectious disease was outstanding too. There were quite a few really good workshops. Woddail:We end up finding a lot of business and networking in the medical arena. It is important for us to have a chance to meet with our customers and spend some face to face time with them instead of just doing it all over the phone. This conference has always been a good opportunity for us to interact with the customers. CC: What makes corrections special when it comes to medicine? Collatt: As the population gets older in corrections and sicker, I think the hospice piece is really important to our field. It's important to raise awareness about this issue, and the NCCHC did a great job of that. Murray: One unique aspect of corrections is learning how to blend the custody aspect with the medical aspect. We really need to look at the policies we have in place, in the custody and medical sectors, and make sure that everyone on both sides is on the same page. We really need to make sure that our release planning includes information about infectious control, for example. We need to make sure these two sectors merge. Woddail:Our team specifically focuses on corrections because of the unique nature of the security environment and some of the issues that have to be dealt with as far as cost containment. The people that are on our team are experienced in the correctional medicine setting and can help orient and prep these physicians so they are prepared when they enter that environment. CC: Who else should check out the NCCHC conference? Collatt: I think anytime that you can learn about different ways of doing your own program or remaking your program to improve it is positive. Of all the comments I heard, about eighty percent were very positive about how much they were learning that they could take back to the field. Woddail:This conference gives vendors a chance to interact with the customers and focus on continuing education. It's a win-win, certainly. Murray:It offers so much current information. Some of it needs to be repeated because new people are showing up; for someone in the medical field, having the ability to network and being able to call someone in the same boat that they are is just an outstanding piece of this that is really helpful. All around, this is a great conference every single year I hear more people say, “Oh! I wish I could go!” I tell nurses around the country that if they want to attend, they should write an abstract and submit it as a poster for NCCHC review. It's almost a given that your superiors will let you go [to the conference] if you get involved in this. |
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