NORTHAMPTON — The Hampshire Sheriff’s Office has earned reaccreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) after scoring 100% compliance on 54 different measurement standards, Sheriff Patrick Cahillane has announced.
The announcement comes after the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction reported one active COVID-19 case among pre-trial detainees on Wednesday. The patient’s vaccination status was not immediately available.
“In achieving NCCHC accreditation, the Hampshire Sheriff’s Office has demonstrated its commitment to meeting constitutional requirements for health care delivery for incarcerated individuals,” Deborah Ross, CEO of the national commission, wrote in a statement. “Accreditation is a voluntary process and we commend the (Hampshire Sheriff’s Office) for successfully undertaking this challenge to provide quality health care and instill confidence in the community it serves.”
Cahillane said the commission accredits nearly 500 correctional facilities in 47 states, and many institutions decline to seek accreditation because of the high, science-based standards.
The agency looks for constitutional detainee treatment in areas including health care services and support, patient care, special needs services, staff training, safety and health promotion, among others.
“That our staff was able to meet 100 percent of the NCCHC’s standards while dealing with the myriad challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic is a powerful testimony to the quality of our (sheriff’s office) personnel,” Cahillane wrote in a statement.
Sixteen cases of COVID-19 were identified among detainees at the jail between Nov. 27 and Dec. 27, during the peak of the omicron variant surge, and all were unvaccinated. Among the seven cases identified in the first two weeks of January, four detainees were unvaccinated, two were vaccinated but had not received booster shots and one was vaccinated with a booster shot.
“While we are grateful that our COVID-positive cases have dropped precipitously this past month,” Cahillane wrote, “please know that we continue to operate under the same strict masking, distancing and hand-washing protocols implemented at the beginning of the pandemic and continue to promote vaccination for those who have not yet received the shot or are in need of a booster.”
On Sept. 29, the American Correctional Association re-accredited the jail after finding 100% compliance with 58 mandatory standards and 301 non-mandatory standards.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.