CCHPpageLeading by Example Comes Naturally for TrusteeThe CCHP program isgrowing in leaps andbounds! 179 applicantspassed exams fromJuly through October.Their certificati<strong>on</strong>begins Jan. 1. A list ofthese CCHPs is postedat www.ncchc.org.After a relatively brief but highimpactcareer in the world ofcorrecti<strong>on</strong>al health care, ThomasG. Lundquist, MD, MMM, hasmoved <strong>on</strong> to academia. But weneed not lament his departure.Having been bitten by the correcti<strong>on</strong>alhealth bug, he intends toc<strong>on</strong>tinue to help this field makemeasurable improvements in therealms of telemedicine, electr<strong>on</strong>ic health records and operati<strong>on</strong>alperformance overall. Even better, perhaps, he cannow take a larger role as an advocate for correcti<strong>on</strong>al healthcare in policy debates.Lundquist came to this field in August 2004, when hejoined Wexford <strong>Health</strong> Sources, Inc., a health services c<strong>on</strong>tractmanagement firm, as chief medical officer. He broughtwith him seven years of experience as a physician executivein a variety of health care sectors and delivery models, withexpertise in quality management and a proven track recordin populati<strong>on</strong> health and disease management programs.Progressive LeadershipDuring Lundquist’s five years at Wexford, his successes weremany. With a sharp focus <strong>on</strong> leadership and quality, heestablished a medical leadership branch of the company,delineating expectati<strong>on</strong>s, roles and resp<strong>on</strong>sibilities at thecorporate and regi<strong>on</strong>al levels. He greatly improved utilizati<strong>on</strong>management by using case management and diseasemanagement strategies that, not surprisingly, also improvedclinical outcomes. He also implemented corporatewideclinical protocols.Lundquist is an ardent believer that it is not <strong>on</strong>ly smart,from a business perspective, but essential for correcti<strong>on</strong>alhealth systems to embrace technology. Accordingly, he ledefforts to implement telemedicine and telepsychiatry at thefacilities his company worked with.Those efforts paid off: “I have seen firsthand the improvementof care delivery due to these technologies, and I haveseen literally tens of thousands of additi<strong>on</strong>al visits beingbrought to patients in need through the use of telemedicine,”Lundquist says.Similarly, he argued for—and sometimes achieved—adopti<strong>on</strong> of electr<strong>on</strong>ic health record systems at his clients’facilities. This technology, too, is a vital driver of quality, hesays. With the frequent need for interfacility inmate transfers,EHRs ensure that providers receive c<strong>on</strong>sistent access tocomplete patient informati<strong>on</strong>, and they reduce costly inefficienciessuch as duplicative testing.While describing his work at Wexford as <strong>on</strong>e of themost enriching experiences in his career and praising thededicated professi<strong>on</strong>als <strong>on</strong> the fr<strong>on</strong>t line, Lundquist alsorecounts some frustrati<strong>on</strong>s. In particular, he points to thelack of support for technology, populati<strong>on</strong> health managementstrategies and other key needs in correcti<strong>on</strong>al healthcare. He emphasizes that the blame does not lie with thecorrecti<strong>on</strong>al agencies themselves: “Much decisi<strong>on</strong> makingabout programmatic effort and investment is in the realmof public policy and needs to be addressed in that forum.”Speaking OutAnd that’s where Lundquist hopes to make a difference.Currently he is an adjunct faculty member at the H.J. HeinzCollege of Public Policy and Management at CarnegieMell<strong>on</strong> University, Pittsburgh, where he teaches physicianexecutives about issues such as health care quality, patientsafety and leadership. But he is c<strong>on</strong>sidering taking <strong>on</strong> a fulltimefaculty role at CMU.“It would allow me to engage more unencumbered inthe public policy debate about health care delivery and thebusiness case for quality,” he explains. “It also would allowme to pursue grant-funded research focusing <strong>on</strong> improvinghealth care delivery in correcti<strong>on</strong>s. I believe a much str<strong>on</strong>gerc<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> between our nati<strong>on</strong>’s public health efforts andcorrecti<strong>on</strong>al health care delivery must prevail.”This philosophy meshes with Lundquist’s motivati<strong>on</strong>s forbecoming certified through the CCHP program. “I believethat accreditati<strong>on</strong> and certificati<strong>on</strong> are good ways to createcomm<strong>on</strong> ground and to c<strong>on</strong>tinually raise the bar <strong>on</strong> thequality of providers and organizati<strong>on</strong>s,” he says. “Becominga CCHP has allowed me to lead by example and encourageothers to never stop learning, no matter where you are inyour career.”This profile was written by Matissa Samm<strong>on</strong>s, NCCHC’s certificati<strong>on</strong>coordinator. To reach her, e-mail cchp@ncchc.org.CCHP Exam DatesFebruary 20March 11April 25July 11August 21October 10Multiple regi<strong>on</strong>al sitesPortland, ORNashville, TNBost<strong>on</strong>, MAMultiple regi<strong>on</strong>al sitesLas Vegas, NVFor more informati<strong>on</strong> about the applicati<strong>on</strong> process orthe exams, please visit www.ncchc.org/cchp.We are seeking additi<strong>on</strong>al sites for the regi<strong>on</strong>al exams,as well as CCHPs to proctor the exams. If you wouldlike to participate, c<strong>on</strong>tact the CCHP coordinator at773-880-1460 or cchp@ncchc.org.24<str<strong>on</strong>g>Fall</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2009 • Correct<strong>Care</strong>www.ncchc.org
FieldnotesThis department features news and informati<strong>on</strong> fromNCCHC’s supporting organizati<strong>on</strong>s and other partners thatshare our goal of promoting quality health care in correcti<strong>on</strong>alinstituti<strong>on</strong>s. If your organizati<strong>on</strong> has news to share,please c<strong>on</strong>tact editor@ncchc.org, 773-880-1460.American Dental Associati<strong>on</strong>Capt. Nicholas Makrides, DMD, MPH, the ADA’s representative<strong>on</strong> NCCHC’s board of directors, has proposed thatthe federal <strong>Health</strong>y People 2020 initiative add an oral healthobjective for correcti<strong>on</strong>al facilities. In the past and in theproposed 2020 <strong>Health</strong>y People oral health objectives, instituti<strong>on</strong>alpopulati<strong>on</strong>s have been omitted. Makrides says thatbecause these populati<strong>on</strong>s have been omitted from largescalenati<strong>on</strong>al investigati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> oral health, including theSurge<strong>on</strong> General’s report “Oral <strong>Health</strong> in America” and the<str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>Health</strong> and Nutriti<strong>on</strong> Examinati<strong>on</strong> Surveys, thereare no nati<strong>on</strong>al data sets that describe the oral health ofinmates. Makrides is a U.S. Public <strong>Health</strong> Service officer andchief dentist for the Federal Bureau of Pris<strong>on</strong>s.American Public <strong>Health</strong> Associati<strong>on</strong>The APHA’s annual meeting in November in Philadelphiafeatured 40 presentati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> correcti<strong>on</strong>al health care.Topics were quite diverse and included ethical dilemmas,immigrant detainees, medicati<strong>on</strong> assisted therapy, STDscreening for female jail inmates, health disparities, interagencycollaborati<strong>on</strong> and much more. The call for abstractsfor the 2010 meeting ends in mid-February.American Bar Associati<strong>on</strong>The ABA is undertaking a revisi<strong>on</strong> to its Criminal JusticeStandards, the first major update in over 25 years. NCCHCwas c<strong>on</strong>sulted <strong>on</strong> aspects related to correcti<strong>on</strong>al healthcare, and the final document will cross-reference NCCHC’sstandards.Academy of Correcti<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Health</strong> Professi<strong>on</strong>alsThe Academy will so<strong>on</strong> c<strong>on</strong>duct a survey of its membership.This survey, which is d<strong>on</strong>e every five years, will inquireabout members’ professi<strong>on</strong>al needs and interests, as well asdemographic informati<strong>on</strong>. The results will help the board ofdirectors to strengthen the Academy’s programs and servicesto better the needs of the membership. Please completethe survey when you receive it!Correcti<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Health</strong> Professi<strong>on</strong>als WeekThe first-ever <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> Correcti<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Health</strong> Professi<strong>on</strong>alsWeek occurred Oct. 18-24 in c<strong>on</strong>juncti<strong>on</strong> with the <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g>C<strong>on</strong>ference <strong>on</strong> Correcti<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Care</strong>. Meeting participantswere excited about the celebratory week, whichwas c<strong>on</strong>ceived by the Academy of Correcti<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Health</strong>Professi<strong>on</strong>als as a time “to h<strong>on</strong>or professi<strong>on</strong>als striving toprovide c<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>ally mandated and community-basedstandards of care” in correcti<strong>on</strong>al settings.A World of OpportunitiesThe GEO Group, Inc. is currently recruiting in California,Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York,North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas foropportunities in healthcare including:Medical Directors, Physicians,Psychiatrists, Dentists,Nurse Practiti<strong>on</strong>ers, RN’s,LPN’s, Dental Assistants& PsychologistsFor more informati<strong>on</strong>, please c<strong>on</strong>tact:Nichole Vinci, Manager, <str<strong>on</strong>g>Nati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> RecruitmentToll Free: 1.866.301.4436 ext. 7537Fax: 561.443.3839E-mail: nvinci@thegeogroupinc.comApply Online: www.thegeogroupinc.comwww.ncchc.org<str<strong>on</strong>g>Fall</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2009 • Correct<strong>Care</strong>25