MILESTONES

MILESTONES

Honors

Guest presenter

Carol Smith, MSN, BC, CCHP, quality-improvement coordinator at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, gave a presentation at the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

The presentation also was published in the fall 2013 edition of CorrectCare, the NCCHC magazine.

The presentation, “Creating a Patient Safety Culture in the Correctional Setting,” focused on the elements of a patient-safety culture to include leadership, communication, evidence-based practice, teamwork, patient-centered practice and institutional culture.

Smith addressed how correctional institutions can begin this process through open communication, staff competency, medication management and unit design. She spoke on the additional challenges that health care professionals face within the correctional setting.

The Ohio State Penitentiary houses 457 high security offenders in Mahoning County. Built in 1998, the prison employs 328 correction officers and staff.

Certifications

The Ohio State Bar Association has certified or recertified several local attorneys as specialists in various areas of the law.

They are:

Thomas J. Lodge of Youngstown, recertified in estate planning, trust and probate law.

Louis Katz of Poland, certified, and Magistrate Thomas Dawson of Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court, recertified, both in family relations law.

David Comstock of Youngstown, certified in insurance law.

Robert J. Curry of Youngstown, recertified in workers compensation law.

To be certified in a specialty, lawyers must pass a written exam, submit five professional references attesting to their competence in the specialty, devote at least 25 percent of their practice to that field and fulfill continuing education requirements in their specialty.

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