Nevada to focus on inmates’ mental health issues
By Sandra Chereb, Las Vegas Review-Journal
The state Department of Corrections is establishing a designated mental health facility at Northern Nevada Correctional Center to provide coordinated treatment for inmates housed around the state, Director James Dzurenda said.
Dzurenda told the state Board of Prison Commissioners, chaired by Gov. Brian Sandoval, that the goal is to concentrate services in one location and allow medical staff to tailor treatment to individual inmates.
The changes are being implemented in stages, Dzurenda said. The correctional center in Carson City will have an acute mental health unit for seriously mentally ill inmates. The facility also will have a transitional unit for inmates who have stabilized. Another transitional unit is being established at nearby Warm Springs Correctional Center.