UMass Medical School to Provide Care to a New York Prison

Up until the contract expired in July 2013, the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Medical School provided medical care to 17 state-run prisons in Massachusetts, serving the health needs of approximately 11,500 inmates. Now, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the school’s been awarded a multimillion dollar contract “to manage comprehensive medical services for nearly 1,000 inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) located in Ray Brook, New York.”

According to the report, it’s a five-year contract valued at $8 million. This will be UMass Medical School’s fourth federal correctional health contract. Approximately 80 percent of the school’s funding comes from federal funding sources. The Health and Criminal Justice Program at UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division will manage the contract.

“UMass Medical School is extremely pleased to have the opportunity to bring our correctional health management expertise to the Ray Brook facility,” Joyce A. Murphy, executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine, said in a statement. “This new contract allows us to extend our impressive experience and specialized knowledge to the FCI Ray Brook inmate population.”

According to the agreement:

UMass Medical School will coordinate inpatient and outpatient care provided by specialist physicians at the correctional facility and in community settings. The medical school will manage scheduling and handle all claims associated with the care.

A leader in correctional health, UMass Medical School has provided comprehensive health services for the past 14 years at the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ medical facility in Devens, Mass. In August 2012, the medical school began providing comprehensive medical services at the federal medical center in Butner, N.C., and was awarded a contract for FCI Berlin, New Hampshire, in 2013.