By Ashley Brinkman, PhD, LPC, CCHP
In today’s ever-changing health care landscape, delivering top-notch, efficient health services in correctional facilities demands a sharp eye and a dedicated approach. As a lead consultant on a health services monitoring contract with NCCHC Resources, I have the exciting opportunity to help clients navigate the path to meaningful improvements—whether it’s fine-tuning their clinical practices or driving transformative change that makes a lasting impact.
Building a Foundation: The Consultant’s Role
Each project begins with a comprehensive review of the client’s clinical services, ensuring alignment with the specific goals outlined in their contract and the relevant NCCHC Standards. From managing withdrawal protocols to enhancing documentation practices between admission and treatment referral, the scope will vary. Regardless, a structured, thoughtful approach is needed. With collaboration between the NCCHC Resources team and facility staff, I establish clear monitoring goals and project timelines, addressing both clinical and procedural aspects of care.
As the lead, my primary responsibility is to keep our team aligned, productive, and coordinated. Witnessing the commitment of our clients to their patients is undoubtedly the most rewarding part of this process. In an era demanding extensive health care reform, their dedication to serving their communities deserves recognition.
Why Monitoring Services Matter
Correctional health care workers strive to offer quality services while grappling with internal and external pressures. Even the most robust health care teams can’t juggle every challenge simultaneously.
This is where collaboration with NCCHC Resources proves invaluable. By maintaining the achievements facilities have already gained, identifying hidden issues, and broadening the range of solutions available, we help correctional health care teams elevate their operations. This partnership ensures that facilities can sustain excellence while continuing to grow and adapt.
Complementing On-the-Ground Efforts
NCCHC Resources team members bring a wealth of expertise and experience that supplement the hard work of facility teams:
- Validation of Success: Amid the scrutiny faced by correctional health care teams, external positive feedback can provide objective measures of success, reinforcing morale and focus.
- Effective Communication: Our ability to navigate organizational structures through educating, advocating, and implementing ensures coordinated integration of improvements.
- Fresh Perspectives: Drawing on experiences from other facilities with similar barriers, we introduce innovative solutions tailored to specific challenges.
Witnessing Positive Change
Clients who commit fully to the process often achieve remarkable results. One standout example comes from a long-term client who implemented one of the most effective incarcerated worker programs I’ve seen. After noticing a trend of kitchen-related injuries, the facility’s administration, health care team, and food vendor collaborated to address worker safety issues. The resulting procedural changes were implemented swiftly, significantly reducing worker burns and improving overall safety. This level of interdepartmental cooperation exemplifies the potential for impactful change.
A Rewarding Journey
Serving as a lead consultant with NCCHC Resources has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career, second only to joining the correctional health care community. Viewing the field from a national perspective is invigorating and reinforces my belief in the power of collaborative efforts to drive meaningful reform.
Correctional facilities play a critical role in public health, and the dedication of health care teams working within these environments is inspiring. Together, with a shared commitment to excellence, we continue to pave the way for a better future in correctional health care.
Ashley Brinkman, PhD, LPC, LPCC-S, CCHP is a lead consultant with NCCHC Resources. Dr. Brinkman has 15 years of experience in behavioral health and holds a broad perspective on the intersecting systems in the field, including integrated health, operations, clinical considerations, and a patient-centered approach. Through her work as a licensed professional counselor, having seen the role the criminal justice system played in her clients’ recoveries, she developed a passion for correctional health care. As a correctional health care leader, she advocates for integrated care with low-barrier access, placing an emphasis on principles of harm reduction, and expansion of mental health services; all accomplished through collaborative efforts between correctional leadership and community providers.
Can NCCHC Resources help you? Contact us to find out.