Cermak Health Services

John M. Raba, M.D., COO & Acting Medical Director

Cermak Health Services is an affiliate of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services. Cermak's staff (600 full and part-time employees) provides an array of on-site ambulatory and infirmary clinical services and ancillary services to over 10,000 detainees housed daily throughout the one hundred (100) acre complex of the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC). Cermak is the largest single site correctional health care services in the United States. It is accredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). 

In 1999, there will be over 100,000 admissions to the CCDOC. Upon admission, every detainee is screened for medical, dental and mental health problems. Medical screenings are particularly concerned with detecting contagious diseases, hypertension, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, acute illnesses and other maladies. A selective clinical history is then compiled for each detainee. A secondary assessment for medical and/or mental health problems is performed per protocol in the intake area. Based on the conclusion of the clinical assessment(s), the detainee is either sent to the general population housing in eight Divisions or to special housing in Division III (females) or Division VIII (males). These two divisions are staffed 24 hours per day by nursing. The Cermak building is in Division VIII. 

Detainees requiring hospitalization are sent to bureau hospitals: Cook County, Provident or Oak Forest. 

The health services are physically located in the Cermak Health Services building, the intake area and a network of medical clinics (sick call) areas and dental operatories located within the ten (10) housing Divisions of the Department of Corrections. The Cermak building includes three mental health infirmary units for males which total fifty eight (58) beds, a 24 bed mental health infirmary unit for females, three medical infirmary units (40 male and 9 female beds), an infectious disease unit (14 male and 4 female beds), one same day surgery operatory, an emergency room, a specialty clinic area (14 clinics), sexually transmitted disease (STD) and tuberculosis (TB) clinics, a certified CLIA laboratory, a pharmacy with methadone services, a radiology department (CAT scan, fluoroscopy, ultrasound and panorex) and general staff offices. The pharmacy and radiology departments are licensed by the State of Illinois. The infirmary units and the emergency room are staffed 24 hours daily. 

Male detainees with mental illnesses not requiring an acute care setting and those with chronic medical problems (asthmatics, diabetics, etc.) are housed and receive treatment services in the Residential Unit Building (RTU). This building accommodates 480 male detainees. Nursing coverage is 24 hours daily. Mental health services are also provided to detainees in the general population in all Divisions on an outpatient basis. 

Cermak provides a variety of on-site mental health services to about 1000 detainees with varying types of diagnosed mental health problems. The services include primary and secondary intake screening and assessment, a 24 hour crisis team, medication clinic for those in the general population, residential services for 282 male and 60 female detainees and four infirmaries (84 beds). Discharge planning occurs with some detainees. 

In each of the ten (10) Divisions, physician staffed "sick call" is held per NCCHC standards at least five sessions per week. Triage and assessment is conducted daily by Cermak staff in all Divisions. Dental services are scheduled for each Division 3-5 sessions per week, depending on the size of the Division. Health Educators are assigned to each Division. They see detainees in groups sessions on the tier, in clinical waiting rooms, in classrooms and also provide one-on-one counseling in their Division offices in the sick call area. HIV/AIDS case managers refer detainees to Bureau affiliates (i.e., CORE Center) for ongoing care and to community case management agencies. 

There are two housing Divisions for female detainees. In the daily population of almost 10,000 detainees, there are about 1,100 females. Division IV is for females in the general population and Division III houses female detainees who have acute/chronic special needs for health care services, and special programs for female detainees. These services include an intermediate care mental health tier of sixty (60) beds, a medical tier of sixty (60) beds, a "Healthy Start" prenatal tier of sixty (60) beds and therapeutic community substance abuse programming living units. Generally, about 80 detainees are either pregnant or postpartum. This Division also houses a medical clinic (sick call) area and dental operatory. 

Detainees are sent off site to Cook County Hospital for special clinical services not available at Cermak such as cancer treatment, MRI, etc. Also, detainees are sent to Fantus Clinic (a Bureau affiliate) for subspecialty clinics not available at Cermak, such as hematology, endocrinology, etc. 

Cermak's staff has been instrumental in working with other public health agencies to formulate policies which have been replicated in other correctional settings relative to tuberculosis screening, AIDS health education and services, and substance abuse services. Through these efforts, the federal CDC guideline for TB care in correctional settings has been modified and improved. 

Cermak has been the recipient of two NCCHC "Program of the Year" awards. In 1997, it was cited for the Healthy Start grant-funded case management/special health education program for pregnant/postpartum detainees. In 1998, Cermak was recognized for its Infection Control program (officer TB screening, detainee TB/STD detection, treatment and community followup involving staff from CDC). 

Cermak is a participant the Bureau's development of a computerized clinical/financial patient information system. The vendor is Shared Medical Systems (SMS). Thus far, the registration module has been implemented. Other modules (radiology, pharmacy, orders, lab, scheduling, etc) will "go live" over the next two years. 

In 1999, the Cook County Board of Commissioners appropriated $33,164,648 for the on site health services at Cermak. Also in 1999, Cermak was awarded five grants for HIV/AIDS services totaling $811,429 and a grant ($103,645) from the Illinois department of Public Health for the Healthy Start project. 

For more program information, contact John M. Raba, M.D., COO & Acting Medical Director at 773-869-5641. The fax number is 773-869-7177. 

Read the latest CCBHS Grants Newsletter
Send comments to ord@cchil.org

LOST A LINK? Look in the alphabetical index to links on this site