San Rafael, CA – The Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) has awarded accreditation to the medical, mental and dental health services at the Marin County Jail following a rigorous external audit of policies, procedures and practices.
The jail, part of the Marin County Civic Center complex on Civic Center Drive in San Rafael, is the 14th county jail and 29th correctional facility in California to have been awarded accreditation from IMQ, an offshoot of the California Medical Association.
The accreditation process is a voluntary undertaking by a detention facility to comply with more than 50 standards that insure constitutionally adequate and regulation-compliant health services for inmates. The health services in the Marin facility are provided jointly by health professionals in the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services and correctional officers in the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution honoring the achievement on November 25 and publicly recognized and thanked HHS and Sheriff’s staff for the successful joint effort.
“Too often the inmate population lives on the margins and does not have access to quality health care,” said Larry Meredith, Ph.D., Director of Marin HHS. “I commend jail health, mental health and Sheriff’s custody staff for their collaborative pursuit of excellence and recognition that everyone deserves access to quality health care. This accreditation award sets a new standard for the provision of health care in Marin detention facilities. We are proud of their accomplishments.”
Through the accreditation process, new procedures strengthened the frequency of health observations of the inmates, added to jail staff medical training and prompted implementation of a new quality assurance program.