A Message from the Interim Senior Vice President & Dean, John Sealy School of Medicine, and Chief Research Officer
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Center for Correctional Health (CCH), a new university-level initiative led by Olugbenga B. Ojo, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM, CCHP, CCHP-CP, from the Department of Internal Medicine and the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Physician Executive for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Hospital Galveston.
The CCH, housed in the School of Public and Population Health (SPPH), will allow UTMB to build on our unique knowledge and experience, and play a vital role in improving the delivery of care to this important and vulnerable population.
Over the last three decades, UTMB has been an international leader and innovator in correctional health care, research and education. This forward-looking model has resulted in:
- Evidence-based delivery of health care to the largest adult and juvenile correctional populations in the US.
- Clinical training programs in correctional health care for medical students, nursing students, allied health students, medical residents and fellows.
- Development of the only free-standing, high-security, tertiary care hospital in the world.
- UTMB’s Guardian Electronic Health Record, which includes detailed diagnostic, clinical, pharmacy and sociodemographic information on both adult and juvenile correctional populations.
- Federally funded correctional health research in HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, and mental health.
- A correctional bioethics program designed to improve patient care, train future provider/scholars, and advocate for just correctional health care policies.
The CCH will foster research, education, and improvement of clinical care delivery in correctional health and serve as a resource to the UTMB research, education, and health care communities.
We warmly invite faculty from all schools to engage with CCH through collaborative research opportunities, training programs, and upcoming events. Additional details on how to connect and participate can be obtained from Dr. Olugbenga Ojo.
Sincerely,
Antonio C. Bianco, MD, PhD