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February 8, 2007

Aging gracefully ... in prison?

The Observer News has this interesting article entitled "Retiring To A Florida Prison," which discusses the greying of Florida's prison population. Here's a taste:

Retiring and growing old in the Sunshine State is a dream for many thousands of people across the country and the world.  Florida is, as often described, a Mecca for retirees.  But from the viewpoint of the Florida Department of Corrections that dream may well be considered a nightmare.

According to statistics, the FDOC is being hit with a double whammy: An aging prison population coupled with a dramatic increase in the admission of elderly prisoners. In the end, that is a trend that will cost everyone in the state.

On one side of the coin is an aging prison population. New and tougher sentencing guidelines and "three strikes you're out" laws have meant that more prisoners will remain incarcerated for long periods, if not for life....  In 1996, there were 3,715 prisoners age 50 and up that accounted for 5.8 percent of the population incarcerated in Florida prisons. By 2006, that number had ballooned to 11,178 prisoners making up 12.6% of the population....

And it's not just that prisoners are staying longer and growing older in jail.  On the other side of the coin is a dramatic increase in new prisoners fueled by an apparent rise in violent and sexually related crimes committed by the elderly. In 1996, the Florida Department of Corrections admitted 803 new inmates over the age of 50.  In 2006, there were more than 2,600 new inmates over 50. Again, those numbers represent a more than three-fold increase over the past decade....

For the FDOC, the trend presents challenges in caring for an increasingly elderly prison population. Florida is among a number of states that have created special units to house elderly inmates.  The units were created primarily to help reduce the increased medical costs associated with elderly prisoners through consolidation of the population. Elderly prisoners, like many elderly people, suffer from cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other maladies to a greater degree than that of younger people.  In Florida prisons, diabetes, hypertension and emphysema are three chronic problems for prisoners over the age of 50. As a result, the health care costs for those prisoners are higher than those of younger prisoners.

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February 8, 2007 at 08:51 AM | Permalink

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Comments

Thank you for your interesting post!
I thought perhaps you may also find this related publication interesting to you:

Aging of Population

http://longevity-science.org/Population_Aging.htm

Posted by: Dr. Leonid Gavrilov, Ph.D. | Apr 19, 2007 1:17:47 PM

Hi,

I am a healthcare professional who is delivering correctional care. My goal is to provide quality care and cut excess costs & unnecessary expenses related to inmate care. One thing I feel would be a positive move is tele-medicine & to move the elderly population who are no longer a maxium threat and move to a minium security;perhaps SNF facility (secured) and reduce the charge to the state for maxium care. What are your thoughts? Thank you

Posted by: Kathy T. | Mar 10, 2009 10:11:10 PM

I am a Psychiatric Nurse with a Certificate in Gerontology, interested in the growing population of Seniors in prisons. I am currently hired as a consultant for Seniors Mental Health. I also am aware of increasing admissions of the elderly with newly committed crimes. I would like to see a change in facility in addressing their changing care needs, also considering the degree of threat. Should there be a new trend, in developing and or utilizing suitable alternate settings...I would be interested in working with this population. Any ideas as to what courses will improve my knowledge and skill set..in order to potentially improve my odds of being a successful candidate in application?

Posted by: Annette | Jun 10, 2009 4:37:53 PM

So pretty. I'm glad I found your post.

Posted by: newest air jordans | Nov 29, 2010 2:36:42 AM

wow this is shocking because, maybe they do it on purpose.
they know that in jail, they gonna have the best medical cares!!!
they are smart

Posted by: Miami Air Conditioning | Apr 16, 2011 11:49:46 AM

good society today is in a crisis where it perhaps older adults do this to ensure his death in a safe place and state

Posted by: xl pharmacy | Nov 10, 2011 9:12:24 AM

good society today is in a crisis where it perhaps older adults do this to ensure his death in a safe place and state

Posted by: xl pharmacy | Nov 10, 2011 9:13:17 AM

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