Commissioner's update for offenders and their families: November 12, 2024

The week of November 10 to 16 is National Nurse Practitioner Week. CSC’s nurse practitioners are nurses who can perform additional roles like prescribing medications.

I am proud of the important role they play in providing you with high-quality health care in institutions across the country. If a nurse practitioner is part of your health care team, thank them for their expertise, compassion, and commitment to improving your health.

I wanted to share with you an interesting initiative from Fraser Valley Institution (FVI). A few months ago, the Inmate Welfare Committee (IWC) at FVI asked Health Services about holding education and information sessions on health topics specific to women. They asked to learn about health subjects that were important to them and their life experiences.

The IWC identified trending topics from the women. The staff then reached out to the appropriate subject matter experts to create and deliver the presentations.

There have been presentations on sexually transmitted infections (STI), women’s health, nutrition and diet, and substance use and recovery.

Your health is important. Activities like these give you an opportunity to get your health questions answered. It allows dedicated Health Services staff to stay informed of general health-related themes and concerns from the inmate population.

I encourage you to talk with your IWC representative to see if health sessions that may be available and/or could be started at your institution.