The mission of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care is to improve the quality of health care in jails, prisons and juvenile confinement facilities. NCCHC establishes standards for health services in correctional facilities, operates a voluntary accreditation program for institutions that meet those standards, produces resource publications, conducts educational conferences and offers certification for correctional health professionals. NCCHC is supported by the major national organizations representing the fields of health, mental health, law and corrections. Each supporting organization has named a liaison to the NCCHC board of directors to create a robust, multidisciplinary governing structure that reflects the complexities of correctional health care.

• Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender Nonconforming Health Care in Correctional Settings

  "Because jails, prisons, and juvenile confinement facilities have a responsibility to ensure the physical and mental health and well-being of inmates in their custody, correctional health staff should manage transgender patients in a manner that respects their biomedical and psychological needs. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care recommends that the following principles guide correctional health professionals in addressing the needs of transgender patients: ...

  1. Because transgender patients may be under different stages of care prior to incarceration, there should be no blanket administrative or other policies that restrict specific medical treatments. Policies that make treatments available only to those who received them prior to incarceration or that limit transition and/or maintenance are inappropriate and out of step with medical standards and should be avoided. ...
  2. Accepted treatments for gender dysphoria should be made available to people with gender dysphoria. Providing mental health care, while necessary, is not sufficient. ...
  3. When determined to be medically necessary for a particular patient, hormone therapy should be initiated and regular laboratory monitoring should be conducted according to community medical standards.
  4. Sex reassignment surgery should be considered on a case-by-case basis and provided when determined to be medically necessary for a patient."

  Date: 2015