Workshop Session
Prison oversight bodies field an extraordinary number of complaints from incarcerated people about their problems with access to health care and the quality of the care that is delivered, and poor medical care also contributes to deaths in custody and worsened health outcomes for people who have been incarcerated. This session, featuring two of the world’s leading experts on correctional health care, specifically addresses how these issues can and should be monitored by external observers. Dr. Marie Brasholt of DIGNITY-Danish Institute Against Torture will highlight her new manual on monitoring health care in detention settings, and Dr. Marc Stern, a former prison medical director and federal court-appointed monitor, will address how courts in the United States seek to assess and ensure the constitutionality of prison health care systems. Moderated by prison oversight expert Michele Deitch of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas, the session is designed to give attendees practical tools they can apply in their oversight roles to assess whether incarcerated people are receiving the medical care they need and whether there is a seamless delivery of health care from incarceration through release.
