Clinical Insights: A Safe Place to Land

Safety is almost always the first concern in considering a career in correctional healthcare. It's the picture carried over from preconceptions, TV dramas, and prison headlines constantly circling the media. But when talking to the people actually working those shifts, a different picture starts to come into focus. It’s a picture of proven processes, refined procedure, and a level of protection most haven’t experienced anywhere else in healthcare positions.

“I feel safer working in the jail than I did in the emergency room."

Similar to emergency medicine, correctional healthcare is known for unexpected arrivals, potentially disruptive behavior, and a more intense requirement for awareness. While emergency medicine providers have access to an officer should something escalate, correctional healthcare clinicians work in partnership with correctional staff and daily operational security procedures and protocols. Correctional healthcare is the only medical environment that offers that high level of safety and security.

NaphCare clinicians know the reality of this more than anyone, however, their families, spouses, and friends may take some time to build the confidence of safety.  

What We Tell Families

Nearly every clinician we spoke with described a version of the same family dynamics.

“Absolutely not,” was the response Lauren Harkrader, the Director of Nursing in Forsyth County, NC, was met with when she told her family that she had accepted a nursing position in a jail. Now, three years into the role, Lauren’s family has a different perspective through her experience in Forsyth County Detention Center.

“I feel safer working in the jail than I did in the emergency room. At all times, when we're with the patients, we have a correctional officer with us.” That constant officer presence is the detail missed most by those not in this line of work. It's also the detail our clinicians are the quickest to share.

Whitney Pritchett, a certified medical assistant in Mobile, AL, explains what finally put her own family at ease. “Once they understood I'm not going into cells or roaming the halls freely and that I am accompanied by an officer at all times, they felt better.” They just want to know their people are safe and taken care of in their daily routine.

Confidence Through Experience

While physical safety is a priority, proper attitude, and awareness matters just as much. Not every encounter poses a physical risk. Most don't. But on occasion, a patient might become agitated and lash out with their words, and that’s tough too. Safety includes protecting the mental state of our clinicians just as much as their physical bodies.

Christopher Cordon, a mental health professional in Mobile County, Alabama, was blunt about it: “There are a lot of verbal attacks. This is part of the field. This is the reality of it.”

Kenya Lewis, an HSA at Hamilton County Justice Center, frames it as an attitude you learn to take on the job. “Safety and security are first,” she said.

Kenya has worked in the field of correctional healthcare for many years and loves what she does, but most importantly, she stays safe while doing her job well. Her experience means that she knows where to be and how to present herself when she encounters a patient for a visit.

And that's true, not just for Kenya, but for all of our clinicians and providers. No job is free of risk, but the risk here often comes with great reward. There is mission and meaning in witnessing someone else’s progress in corrections.

For NaphCare clinicians, every day brings an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who may have limited access to healthcare elsewhere. Providing that care takes preparation, teamwork, and dedication, but it comes with purpose.

For some clinicians, correctional healthcare becomes more than a career they expected to try. It becomes a place where they feel supported, valued and confident in the work they do.

A safe place to land. A meaningful place to make a difference.

See how NaphCare healthcare workers explain safety in a correctional facility: