Nevada Detention Facility Earns Pinnacle Award

By Fay Harvey 

Birmingham, Ala. — On Oct. 22, Nevada’s Washoe County Detention Facility (WCDF) — in collaboration with Alabama based NaphCare Inc. — was honored with the prestigious Pinnacle Award by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC), the top distinction in correctional health care. This distinction makes Washoe County only the third Pinnacle Award recipient in the nation.  

WCDF received the award after earning NCCHC accreditation across three service areas: jail health services, mental health services and opioid treatment programs (OTP). To earn accreditation, a facility undergoes evaluation by correctional health care experts who evaluate the facility’s compliance with NCCHC standards on governance and administration in sectors such as health, staffing, services, care and medical legality.   

“Pinnacle recognition is a distinctive honor that, to date, only three facilities in the country have achieved,” said Amy Panagopoulos, NCCHC vice president of accreditation, in a statement. “It is inspiring to know that there are places like the Washoe County Detention Facility where custody, health care, and leadership care enough about their patients to put in the hard work and collaboration needed to earn three accreditations.”  

Since 2015, NaphCare Inc. and WCDF have prioritized delivering patient-centered and responsive medical and mental health care in line with NCCHC standards. This collaboration also prioritizes addressing opioid disorders in patients, from withdrawals to medication assisted treatments. In 2021, the WCDF earned NCCHC accreditation for meeting standards in opioid treatment programs (OTP) within correctional facilities, an accreditation only 30 facilities have nationwide.  

“The Sheriff’s Office places a high priority on the care of inmates in our custody,” Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said in a statement. “From mental health care to opioid treatment programs and Medication Assisted Treatment, the Sheriff’s Office has worked with our medical provider NaphCare to radically change the delivery of health care to those in our custody.”