Mission Statement

The Medical Services Division of the Harris County Sheriff's Office will become the benchmark for the delivery of correctional medicine nationally. The Division will provide effective, compassionate, and efficient health care within the constraints of the jail's security operations. Innovative teaching and scholarly activities within the Division will promote the advancement of correctional medicine and position the Division as a leader in the field of correctional medicine.

On January 23, 2003, Harris County (Houston, Texas) moved into a new jail at 1200 Baker Street. In doing this, the 1301 Franklin facility was closed. The new jail at 1200 Baker has six floors and can house over 4,000 detainees. This building includes a large medical clinic, mental health facilities, a substance abuse program, an infirmary, a pharmacy, x-ray facility, dental, dietary and laboratory services. The entire medical unit is equipped with negative airflow to prevent spread of contagious respiratory illnesses.

The Sheriff's Office is charged with the duty of providing medical services to detainees housed in its detention facilities. Along with physicians from The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, the Medical Division personnel provide comprehensive health care to detainees. Detainees housed in the detention facilities, as well as the citizens of Harris County, benefit from the provision of detainee health services offered at the Sheriff's Office.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office Medical Services Division has received accreditation of its jail medical operations from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) since 1991. NCCHC recognizes correctional health care systems that conform to accepted national standards for the delivery of medical services to incarcerated populations. Accreditation is granted only upon successful completion of an exhaustive external peer review of the full range of services. In addition to the actual delivery of health care services, the review includes an examination of facilities, management, training, records maintenance and every aspect of medical support services. For additional information about NCCHC visit their web site at: http://www.ncchc.org.