The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections defines "elderly" inmates as those who are 50 years of age and older. As of November 2019, more than 10,600 of the DOC's 45,412 inmates are elderly, and this segment of the prison population has been growing over the years. In fact, only 10 years ago, the number of inmates who were age 50 and over was just more than 6,949; and in 1999, that number was just over 3,404.
Realizing that older inmates require specialized medical care and face increasing accessibility issues as they age, the DOC has been focusing on ways to provide the graying prison population with ways that allow the inmates to play a role in maintaining their health, which in the long run could be a cost savings for taxpayers. Research suggests that the availability of inmates' self-care strategies and self-management of chronic conditions contribute to pursuit of good health (i.e., staying positive; managing diet/weight; engaging in physical activity).
The DOC is considering developing interventions that will enhance health promotion for older inmates, through the assignment of a William Penn Fellow who is focusing on aging and geriatric inmates and their needs and costs to the system.
Ebony Johnson, who began working with the DOC in 2019, has visited every institution and has worked to identify ways to improve the system to assist this specific population subsection. She holds a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Gerontology, which is the study of aging. Before coming to the DOC, she was employed at Wellspan Philhaven as a clinical case manager and helped individuals with a mental health diagnoses develop smart goals for their treatment plan to improve their quality of life.
Johnson has held focus groups with DOC inmates discussing social, physical, occupational, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs of these inmates to identify areas and issues that need to be addressed. One focus group discussed the fact that elderly inmates tend to be isolated. Others report that there is no outlet to share and process their feelings or to talk about common experiences, such as a senior support group. Another group believed they would benefit from more mentally stimulating activities, such as puzzles, books on aging, along with other ways.
Through her work, Johnson will identify ways to enhance current policies and procedures, and she also will work with BetaGov to further investigate new ideas/concepts. BetaGov -- which is a non-profit entity that works with corrections leaders to develop and test ideas all with the goal of helping leaders implement ideas/concepts that are proven to work -- will help the DOC to pilot – or test – these concepts to determine their validity and performance.
DOC officials see the potential for great work in the area of older inmates, and Johnson is leading the way.