Riverside County correctional facilities receive NCCHC accreditation

From the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department

 

RIVERSIDE COUNTY — The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the Riverside University Health System’s Correctional Health Care Services Division and the Behavioral Health Division are proud to announce the recent national accreditation awarded by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). This accreditation stems from an ongoing effort to achieve and maintain the highest level of care in correctional facilities throughout Riverside County.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is committed to providing the highest level of service to all residents of Riverside County, including those housed in correctional facilities. To maintain the highest levels of service possible in each of the department’s correctional facilities, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department began researching accreditation programs that upheld the highest standards of service and care.

After extensive research, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care was that program. It is recognized as the gold standard for jail health care programs. The accreditation process is all encompassing with external peer reviews of all components of the system including governance and administration, safety, personnel and training, health care services and support, inmate care and treatment, health promotion, health records, medical-legal issues, and special needs and services.

In November 2016, the County of Riverside applied to the NCCHC for accreditation for each correctional facility in Riverside County. This monumental task required great coordination and continued dedication by the Sheriff’s Department staff and the professionals from the Correctional Health Care Services Division and the Behavioral Health Division who diligently serve those housed in Riverside County Sheriff’s Department correctional facilities.

To successfully receive national accreditation through the NCCHC, the county correctional facilities endured a rigorous accreditation process. This process consisted of meeting sixty-seven accreditation standards related to inmate medical care, mental health care, and on-going treatment.

After the NCCHC completed its surveys in April 2017, it awarded accreditation to all the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department correctional facilities as follows:

Blythe Jail
Cois M. Byrd Detention Center
Indio Jail
Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility
Robert Presley Detention Center

Despite undergoing a rigorous accreditation process, every correctional facility in Riverside County was granted national accreditation by the NCCHC. The Riverside County correctional facilities’ medical and mental health systems are in an elite group of only about 15% of all county correctional facilities nationwide, and the only adult county correctional system in California, to possess this highly-regarded accreditation.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department would like to thank the Riverside University Health System’s Correctional Health Care Services Division, Behavioral Health Division, and all the employees assigned to the Corrections Division for your continued commitment to providing excellent service and making this accreditation possible.
Point of Contact: Chief Deputy Scot Collins

 

Contact the editor: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.