Virginia detention center collaborates with university to provide health care

A Virginia detention center has developed a close working relationship with a local university to provide health care for inmates that benefits both institutions.

The Prince William-Manassas Adult Detention Center cuts the cost of health care. The George Mason University College of Nursing

The students work at the adult detention center on a regular basis, conducting health screenings, teaching health classes and administering monthly hepatitis B vaccinations for inmates under age 19.

The detention center also serves as a clinical site, enabling nursing students from Georg Mason to meet their community health requirements by working at the facility.

"With the students, we are able to do patient education and patient teaching projects," says Marmie Schuster-Walker, Nursing Supervisor for the Prince William-- Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center.

"They also are a great help in allowing us to keep up with our day to day work load."

In November 1999, the detention center recruited nursing school students to administer flu shots, forging another chapter in a collaborative relationship that ultimately benefits surrounding communities.

In the past, the jail could only offer the flu vaccine to inmates in its chronic clinic; the health care staff did not have the time or resources to conduct a comprehensive influenza inoculation program.

With the help of the students, the health care staff is now able to offer the flu vaccine to its entire inmate population, greatly increasing the number of inoculated inmates and thereby reducing the number of potential flu cases in the outside community once the offenders are released.

The facility holds about 620 detainees and now provides about 300 influenza vaccines. So far, the inoculations have had a dramatic affect, reducing the number of flu cases at the facility from about 12 in 1998 to only one during the 1999-- 2000 year flu season.

Not surprisingly, the detention center tailors the inoculation program around the availability of the students, scheduling the inoculations for one day in early November when the students are available to administer the shots.

The day before the vaccinations, the health care staff posted and passed out flyers on each of the facility's 15 units, information briefly describing influenza, the influenza vaccine and announcing the availability of the vaccine.

Schuster-Walker and the students went to each unit on that day, asking inmates who wanted the vaccine to sign a consent form and to answer a few questions about any possible allergic reactions. The students then administered the shots to the inmates who lined up in single file.

The detention center uses profits from the inmate commissary funds to pay for the vaccine.

The students perform the inoculations for free and as a result the facility expends very little of its time and money on the process.

Schuster-Walker is quick to point out that both the jail and the students benefit from the arrangement. Of course, the inmates benefit as well, receiving free influenza inoculations.

Schuster-Walker is convinced that any jail can "easily duplicate" the program by using profits from the commissary funds to pay for the vaccine and by networking with a local university or college to find students willing to administer the shots.

As she explains, "schools are looking for sites where they can obtain clinical practice and have instructors on site to make sure the shots are administered correctly."

James Arvantes.

Inf.: Marmie Schuster-Walker, Nursing Supervisor, Prince William Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center, 703-7926437 or 703-792-7680.