On any given day, the Dallas (Texas) County Jail adds between 300 and 350 inmates to its population of about 6,000. Among those new arrivals, at least half are ill, and about one in every six has some kind of mental illness.
Providing medical care within a correctional facility poses difficult logistical problems. On a busy day, the Dallas County Jail has to send up to 10 patients to nearby Parkland Hospital for higher levels of care in Parkland’s emergency department or inpatient area. Those transfers represent a security risk and add to the cost of guarding prisoners.
Since taking over the correctional health services for the jail in 2006, Parkland Health & Hospital System has remade the facility into a recognized national model for providing efficient healthcare to the incarcerated. More recently, Parkland has been using $38 million of county money to retrofit the three bottom floors of the jail’s North Tower into medical and mental health infirmaries totaling 300 beds, an expanded pharmacy, classrooms, and administrative offices.
Sharon Phillips, RN, Chief Administrative Officer for Parkland Health & Hospital Services, says the new facility will allow Parkland to better monitor its more acutely ill inmates, perform minor surgery, and provide IV treatments without having to transport prisoners outside the jail. A new mental health floor will offer classes in anger management, personal hygiene, and health maintenance.
Phillips says that once the new facility is up and running, most of the sick or injured inmates who previously had to be sent to area medical centers will be able to be treated at the jail’s infirmary or medical/surgical unit. “One of the most common reasons we send individuals to the Parkland campus is for chest pain,” she says. “When the new infirmary opens, we will be able to keep most of those inmates at the jail.”
Architecture firm HDR, which designed the jail more than two decades ago, is handling the renovation. HDR Senior Project Manager Jeffrey Forrest says clearing, demolishing, and rebuilding the interiors of three bottom floors without disturbing the six floors above led to some surprises, such as a deeply buried underground sewer system that needed to be uprooted.
The medical facility is scheduled to open next May. Azteca + Russell + Turner is the joint venture GC. Hill International is the project manager.
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report.
Related Stories
| Jun 29, 2012
Guardian launches industry’s first glass visualizer for interior design
Online tool allows designers to explore the possibilities of glass.
| Jun 28, 2012
Federal applications of renewable energy
U.S. Army Fort Knox: Using the Earth for space heating and cooling. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) facilitates the Federal Government’s implementation of sound, cost-effective energy management and investment practices to enhance the nation’s energy security and environmental stewardship.
| Jun 27, 2012
HDR opens office in Beijing
The Beijing office is HDR’s second location in China; the firm’s other office is in Shanghai.
| Jun 27, 2012
KBE Building wins honor for Armed Forces Reserve Center
The construction phase was completed in just 16 months.
| Jun 27, 2012
SOM’s Baker receives honorary doctorate in engineering from Heriot-Watt University
Baker recognized for his career and influential contribution in the field of structural engineering.
| Jun 25, 2012
Living green wall planned for InterContinental Chicago
Project, with price tag of $2 million to $3 million, needs council approval.
| Jun 25, 2012
AIA-NJ honors DMR Architects
The academic building, completed in 2009, provides classrooms, computer labs, faculty offices, and meeting spaces for the College, which has a steady 7% annual increase in enrollment.
| Jun 25, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti appoints Hofmeister and Zhu to board of directors
The addition of Hofmeister and Zhu brings the number of directors to 10.
| Jun 20, 2012
WHR’s Tradewell Fellowship Marks 15th Anniversary
Fellowship program marks milestone with announcement of new program curator and 2012 fellow
| Jun 15, 2012
Beck Group/Atlanta wins AGC Build Georgia Award
Site-specific safety plan, BIM analysis and third-party structural review contributed to successful implementation.