Literature Review

Nebraska inmates provide hospice care for fellow prisoner ABC KETV 7, Omaha, NE; by Mary Regli; 11/12/24 When you're in prison, there comes a point when either your sentence or your life comes to an end. The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has come up with an idea to help inmates in either situation-- at no additional cost. They're transforming the prison from the inside out with a new program that's providing palliative and end-of-life care for incarcerated individuals. The prisoners we met are all serving time for heinous crimes. The purpose of the program is to have other inmate volunteers provide final care for dying or critically ill prisoners and help with their rehabilitation. "In the end of life, it doesn't really matter what you've done or what reason you're here; you're still a human, and you still deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. And this program embodies that," said Lori Palik, the department's director of nurses. Volunteers go through a ten-week program where they learn what they need to be able to care for their fellow inmates. 

CHCF unveils palliative care mural California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CHCF); by Lt. M. Orozco; 9/9/24 California Health Care Facility (CHCF) staff joined the incarcerated population and outside stakeholders to unveil the palliative care mural Aug. 23. Warden Gena Jones had a vision to normalize CHCF’s environment, making it more appealing for the incarcerated population and staff to enjoy while working. The vision consists of murals being painted throughout the institution with this mural setting the path for many more to come. In April 2024, incarcerated artists Issac Sinsun, Antiono Garcia, Loreto Arizpe, and Francsico Olivares started the palliative care mural. Little did they know it was the start to a new beginning. With the combined efforts of the four artists, the mural took 81 days and about 2,268 hours to complete. The ideas for the artwork were a combined effort from custody and medical staff as well incarcerated population within the housing unit. [Click on the title's link to see photos.]

Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility makes donations to regional hospice and animal shelter Fort Madison Daily Democrat; by Brad Vidmar; 7/18/24 Staff at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility (MPCF) presented two big checks to two worthy causes on Monday. During a presentation at the prison, a check for $5,000 was presented to All God’s Creatures and a check for $10,000 was presented to Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice. ... The $10,000 provided by MPCF for their donation to Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice came from a car washing and detailing program that incarcerated individuals at the prison perform for MPCF staff. Stroud explained that the prison still has a hospice room but said its lack of use in recent years persuaded staff to look consider donating money elsewhere.

The U.S. prison population is rapidly graying. Prisons aren’t built for what’s coming Wisconsin Public Radio, by Meg Anderson; 3/12/24 ... "You don't usually build prisons with nursing home-type housing." The proportion of state and federal prisoners who are 55 or older is about five times what it was three decades ago. In 2022, that was more than 186,000 people. ... Prison systems across the U.S. have a constitutional obligation to provide adequate health care, and they’re racing to figure out how to care for the elderly in their custody — and how to pay for it.Editor's Note: This article provides current data and focuses on nursing home type care. For depth information, pair this data with a clinical journal chapter, "Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Prison" - Aston, L. (2023). Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Prison. In: Brooke, J. (eds) Nursing in Prison . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30663-1_8

Unexpected Fatality Review Committee Report UFR-23-017Washington State Legislature; 2/27/24... The purpose of the unexpected fatality review is to develop recommendations for Department Of Corrections (DOC) and the legislature regarding changes in practices or policies to prevent fatalities and strengthen safety and health protections for incarcerated individuals in DOC’s custody. ... Consultative remarks that do not correlate to the cause of death but should be considered for review by the Department of Corrections: DOC should continue implementing the end-of-life care program. Editor's Note: 

Steven Garner - What he learned about quilting in prisonQuiltFolk Magaine, Issue 28, October 2023Louisiana’s notorious Angola prison is the largest maximum security state prison in the country. But it’s also become known for its hospice program and, to a lesser degree, its prison quilters. Steven Garner was incarcerated at Angola for 31 years and now spends most of his free time building on the quilting skills he learned in prison. He moved to Colorado to be near family, and Quiltfolk visited him at his niece’s house, where he does most of his sewing these days. He shared his current projects and his future dreams.Editor Note: While this article appeared several weeks ago, we wanted to include it in our inaugural newsletter. The link is to the public portion of this article; to read the entire article it's worth purchasing a copy of the magazine. Also, Steven's website is now available: https://www.snt31consulting.com/.