Figure 1: Ohio Reformatory for Women (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, n.d.)
Today, our Community Health rotation took us to the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio. Walking in, I had a preconceived notion of what life was like for incarcerated people and correctional nurses. My notions were proved wrong almost immediately after entering the reformatory premises. Correctional nursing is aimed at providing healthcare to people in prison, who often experience healthcare disparities.
During today’s clinical, my classmates and I toured the Ohio Reformatory for Women’s grounds, including the infirmary and the Residential Treatment Unit. We were fortunate to sit for a panel of women, who described their experiences in prison. They shared positive and negative stories about the healthcare received in prison. One talked about how the correctional nurses can be extremely helpful in receiving proper care, but they can also be a huge barrier. She told us nursing students to “be perceptive.” She explained that great nurses and healthcare workers have the ability to notice things that are not easily recognizable to others. That can be crucial to providing great healthcare. A cultural difference for correctional healthcare is the stigma and bias. In hospitals, inmates often face bias due to their criminal background. However, from my experience today, I noticed that many of the correctional nurses and administrators are huge advocates for the women at the reformatory. My future job is not to judge, it’s to take care of the human being in front of me.
One health concern from the reformatory is the mental health of the women at the reformatory. One of the panelists told us that more than 90% of the women incarcerated at the reformatory have experienced some form of abuse in their lifetimes. In July 2023, the reformatory opened a mental health treatment center, one of the first of its kind in the nation. This center aims to increase the mental (and overall) well-being of all the women at the reformatory. Today’s experience can be associated with the goal 10 of reducing inequalities. Correctional nursing helps bridge the gap between prison populations and healthcare access. Also, the mental health treatment center helps this population have access to care for their mental and emotional well-being. Incarcerated individuals are often underserved in this realm, but these resources are trying to reduce that inequality.
My big takeaway from this experience was how Ohio is a leading state in rehabilitation in prisoners. Also, the state is funding mental health resources in prisons to aid in the mental well-being of incarcerated people. While touring the premises, I noticed many women utilizing these services to better their mental well-beings and overall well-beings.