Health Care Minimum Standards

The Health Care Minimum Standards, which were implemented in 1991, require that the quality of services provided to inmates be consistent with "accepted professional standards and sound professional judgment and practice." For instance, on weekdays inmates must have access to sick call within 24 hours of requesting it;; medical intake screening must occur within 24 hours of entering DOC custody, and timely access to follow-up care and specialty clinics on Rikers Island, the borough facilities, and in hospitals must be provided. Both the Mental Health and Health Care Minimum Standards have been hailed as national models.

Full Text of Health Care Minimum Standards