Upcoming NCCHC Conferences Promote, Support Clinicians in Correctional Settings

Psychiatric Times partner the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) has several upcoming opportunities for psychiatric care clinicians involved in correctional settings. Founded in the early 1970s, the NCCHC is the only national organization dedicated to improving the quality of correctional health.

Proposals for Spring Conference

NCCHC invites mental health care clinicians to present at their Spring Conference on Correctional Health Care. Interested professionals can share session proposals for educational sessions and round table discussions for the meeting to help shape the future of correctional health care. Details are available on the website. Psychiatric Times readers who present at the conference may be highlighted in an upcoming edition of the publication. The conference will be held April 5 - 8, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. The deadline to submit proposals is September 6, 2024.

Educational and Network Opportunities at NCCHC’s National Conference

The NCCHC National Conference on Correctional Health Care will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 19-23, 2024. The conference will offer opportunities for attendees to enhance their practice, network with peers, and influence the field.

Educational sessions will cover the latest research, treatments, and strategies in correctional mental health, including suicidal ideation, complex posttraumatic stress disorder, dementia assessment and care, and substance use treatment programs, including opioid treatment programs. NCCHC has invited leading experts to present at the conference to provide insights into managing complex cases across psychiatric diagnoses in the incarcerated setting.

The NCCHC National Conference on Correctional Health Care conference will also feature innovative tools, techniques, and best practices that can be applied to the work environment to improve patient outcomes. Similarly, attendees will have access to a wealth of resources, including publications, guidelines, and support networks.

Roundtable breakfast discussions will feature discussions on special populations, including special issues associated with geriatric inmate patients and incarcerated patients in rural settings. Experts will also explore the potential role if artificial intelligence in psychiatric prison settings, diversity and inclusion efforts, and a reentry collaborative.

The conference’s exhibit hall will foster conversations among peers and industry as well as spotlight poster presentations on key clinical issues.

Participants can earn CME credits by attending workshops and presentations tailored to the unique challenges of correctional psychiatry. Discounted early registration is currently available through September 27, 2024.

New NCCHC Chair Elizabeth Lowenhaupt, MD, FAAP, CCHP, Excited for Conferences

"As a psychiatrist working with incarcerated patients, I find the NCCHC conferences invaluable in terms of learning, networking, and brainstorming with other physicians and multidisciplinary colleagues from across the country about challenges and opportunities we face in correctional health care,” Elizabeth Lowenhaupt, MD, FAAP, CCHP, told Psychiatric Times in an interview. Lowenhaupt, associate professor of Brown University, Warren Alpert School of Medicine, is the new chair of the NCCHC Governance Board, and serves as consulting medical and psychiatric director at the Rhode Island Training School, the state’s only juvenile correctional facility. She also developed the HOPE (Hasbro Outpatient Psychiatric Evaluations for Justice-involved and At-Risk Youth) for Justice Clinic to expand psychiatric treatment for youth involved in the juvenile legal and child welfare systems across a continuum of community-based and residential treatment settings.

“I am especially excited now to be working with the organization and with colleagues to prioritize access to psychiatric, mental health, and substance use treatment upon re-entry into the community," she added.

Ms Sterling is vice president of professional services at NCCHC.