Full Notification

FROM: Sheriff Todd Entrekin DATE: July 29, 2010
Etowah County Sheriff’s Office

MEDICAL ACCREDITATION AWARDED

The medical unit of the Etowah County Detention Center has been awarded accreditation, according to Sheriff Todd Entrekin.
Accreditation was awarded to Dr. Roger Buck and staff on March 16th by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).
“I am very proud of this accomplishment and of the hard work displayed by our medical staff over the past several years,” states Dr. Buck.
Health Services Administrator Cassi Kellett, RN, MSN adds, “The medical staff was dedicated in reaching this level of achievement and the support from the detention center administration was exceptional.”
For its compliance with the NCCHC Standards for Health Services, the Etowah County Detention Center joins the Mobile County Detention Center as the only two facilities in the state to receive the award. They also join nearly 500 correctional facilities nationwide to receive the accreditation for quality health services provided to the inmate population.
“I am proud that our medical unit is one of two agencies in the state to receive this honor,” states Sheriff Entrekin. “Dr. Buck and his staff demonstrate the finest qualities of professionalism. We’re privileged to have them as a part of our team.”
Scott Hassell, chief of corrections, adds, “We’re honored to receive this accreditation. It’s a testament to the vision given to us by our Sheriff to excel at all things.”
To receive accreditation, experienced NCCHC surveyors tour the facility, inspect health care environments, review policy and procedures with supporting documentation and review health records. Interviews are held with corrections and health administrators, security and health staff and inmates.
On-site surveys for compliance take place every three years.
NCCHC is a not-for-profit organization working to improve the quality of health care in our nation's jails, prisons and juvenile detention and confinement facilities. It establishes nationally recognized standards for health services in correctional facilities, operates a voluntary accreditation program for facilities that meet these standards, provides technical assistance, produces resource publications, conducts educational programs and offers certification for correctional health professionals.

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(The following was released on July 27, 2009)
Dr. Roger Buck has achieved professional recognition as a Certified Correctional Health Professional (CCHP), according to Sheriff Todd Entrekin.
Dr. Buck earned CCHP certification on July 1st, 2009, after passing a test that demonstrated understanding of national standards and the knowledge expected of leaders working in correctional health care.
Dr. Buck is the director of medical services at the Etowah County Detention Center and has been in practice as the owner of Doctors' Care in Gadsden for over 25 years.
He now joins over five-thousand correctional health care professionals nationwide who have earned CCHP certification.
“We are very proud of Dr. Buck for this accomplishment,” says Sheriff Entrekin. “Through his dedication and commitment to excellence he has associated himself with the very best across the nation in the area of correctional health care.”
Established in 1989 by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC), the CCHP program promotes the application of standards and guidelines essential to the delivery of appropriate health care in the correctional environment, the basic legal principles underlying their practice and their ethical obligations.
For more information about the CCHP program visit www.ncchc.org/CCHP.
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