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<br />DIRECTIVE NUMBER: <br />401.06.03.052 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: <br />Infirmary Care <br /> <br />PAGE NUMBER: <br />2 of 3 <br /> <br />Qualified Health Professional: Physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, nurse, <br />dentist, mental health professional and others who by virtue of their education, <br />credentials, and experience are permitted by law within the scope of their professional <br />practice are to evaluate and care for patients. <br /> <br />Regional Health Manager: The i ndividual assigned as the primary manager who is <br />administratively responsible for the delivery of medical services if health services are <br />privatized. <br /> <br />PROCEDURE <br /> <br />Inmates in the infirmary shall be within sight or hearing of a health care professional at <br />all times. <br /> <br />Admission to and discharge from the infirmary(s) are on the order of a physician or mid - <br />level provider unless the facility health authority and/or the facility head requests a <br />special medical need for admission of an inmate. Such an admission sho uld be a <br />collaborative effort between the warden or his/her designee and the facility health <br />authority or his/her designee. <br /> <br />An infirmary shall be defined as an area within the institution accommodating two or <br />more inmates for a period of 24 hours or more, and expressly designated and operated <br />for the sole purpose of caring for inpatients who are not in need of hospitalization or a <br />licensed nursing facility. <br /> <br />The determination of sufficient and appropriate health care personnel shall be based on <br />the number of patients, the severity of their illnesses and the level of care required for <br />each. These factors should be addressed in the staffing plan. <br /> <br />Call lights, buzzers, or similar devices will be used to ensure that health care staff are <br />readily accessible and that the inmate in the infirmary can readily gain the on-duty <br />person’s attention. <br /> <br />To ensure quality care of infirmary patients, there should be assignment of overall <br />responsibility to one physician. Depending upon the size of the institution, the physi cian <br />may be employed on a part-time basis or under contract on a full-time basis. <br /> <br />The inpatient record shall be the patient’s regularly maintained medical chart and kept <br />within the confines of the medical/infirmary area. <br /> <br />Admitting notes and a discharge summary shall be accomplished in the medical chart of <br />each infirmary patient.