NCJ Number
190472
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 5 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 110,112,113,114
Date Published
August 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discussed the special needs of the growing population of geriatric female offenders.
Abstract
The article emphasized that planning for older female inmates must recognize their health needs. Heart disease--particularly coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure--is the most common illness of older female inmates, followed by cancers of the lung, breast, and cervix. Facilities for female inmates must include health care facilities sized to ensure adequate capacity for the future, which will see the greatest number of elderly offenders, male and female, ever held in United States corrections facilities. Facility planners must include long-term care spaces, including hospice care, and supportive environments for the dying. Programmatic initiatives for geriatric female offenders should center on intellectual stimulation, physical illness, and release preparation and planning when it becomes appropriate. Geriatric female offenders probably will require special care and possibly assisted living arrangements. The article concluded that female geriatric offenders present their own set of needs that should be addressed by designers, architects, and engineers in concert with correctional agencies so the result will be an attractive, safe, and functional environment. Reference