California Takes Steps to Address Needs for Inmates with Dementia

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates that about 18,400 people older than 55 currently reside in state prisons, and California's main prison medical facility is taking initial steps to establish a dementia unit there, reports Reuters . "We have identified a specific need for a specialized unit for our dementia population and are in the very early phases of concept development," notes California Correctional Health Care Services' Elizabeth Gransee. The dementia unit would rely on inmate volunteers and a modest staff to assist, rather than a more costly medical wing. Seven percent of California's 130,000 prisoners were older than 60 in 2016, versus 1 percent 20 years earlier. At the Stockton facility, physicians and nurses are trained to work with an increasing number of inmates with cognitive decline, says Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anise Adams. The setup of a dementia unit in California would follow a similar move by New York, which opened one for its prison populace in 2006. California officials say it is too early to know how much the wing will cost, but it should be relatively simple to renovate an existing ward for use by people with dementia. About 500 prisoners are being treated for dementia or Parkinson's Disease in California penitentiaries, including 200 at Stockton.