9/12/24 Grand Rounds

Incarceration in Boston and a new
Behavioral Health Approach

Speaker:
Headshot of Deb Goldfarb

Deb Goldfarb, LICSW
Director of Behavioral Health, Population Health,
Boston Medical Center

Incarceration nationally and locally has devastating impacts on communities. Our society continues to criminalize addiction, mental illness, poverty and houselessness. Here in Boston, we see our BMCHS patient population impacted by systemic racism and the prison industrial complex in complex ways. Incarceration is a primary driver of health for many of our patients including separating families, inflicting trauma, disrupting treatment access, and leaving lasting financial impacts. A new project, that will be described, aims to partner with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department to deliver an innovative treatment model to our most impacted community members.

Learning Objectives:
    1. Understand the landscape of incarceration in MA and Boston.
    2. Learn about a new innovative behavioral health partnership between BMCHS and Suffolk County Sheriff’s Dept.