Nursing Health Policy alum Kate Horton has had her work with the NYC Jail system cited by both CNN and the New York Times this week.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, her staff at the NYC Board of Correction has been working dilgently to oversee how it’s being managed in the city’s jails. While Kate did not gert authorship credit, it is her report that‘s being cited and she has been leading a team of non-research staff to collect data on COVID-19 management strategies using security footage in the jails.
Says Dr. Horton, "this type of research is so very different from my dissertation work and what I envisioned for my future in research, but the health policy program set me up for this colossal methodological, intellectual, and emotional challenge."
“To get a handle on the reality, over two weeks in April, the city's Board of Correction, which oversees the city's jail system, had staffers observe inmates and correctional staff using surveillance footage. They found that 86% of correctional staff wore masks correctly, while inmates in common areas were seen wearing masks correctly only 17% of the time, auditors reported.
"Board staff observed people in custody not practicing social distancing, as they were sitting or standing close together in communal spaces such as dayrooms, especially around TV sets, phones, main doors, and during meals," according to a report of the agency's findings.”
“A Board of Correction report released last week said some inmates and guards were either not wearing the masks or wearing them incorrectly.”