Biography
Henry joined the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) as Director General within the Health Services Sector in 2008. He is currently DG Clinical Services and Public Health with responsibilities for the development and implementation of standards, guidelines and strategies relating to the provision of essential health services to the federal offender population. Responsibilities also include the development and implementation of health promotion and disease prevention programs and initiatives.
Prior to joining CSC Henry was a Senior Manager with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long -Term Care with primary responsibilities for providing Ministry oversight for hospitals and community agencies in South Eastern Ontario (General Hospitals; Psychiatric Hospitals; Community Care Access Centres; Long Term Care Community Support agencies; Long Term Care Homes; Mental Health and Addictions agencies). His career also includes 16 years of management and clinical practice in a variety of mental health programs (child and adolescent; acute; forensic psychiatry; mood disorders; personality disorders; dual diagnosis; and concurrent disorders). He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours, Psychology (Queen’ University), Master of Social Work (University of Toronto) and Master of Science, Rehabilitation (Queen’s University).
De Souza, H.
Workshop
Behind the Prison Walls: Addressing the Health Care Needs of Older Adults in Custody
As countries around the world experience population aging, it is not surprising that our prisons are now housing and providing care to a growing number of older prisoners. While the exact age of what constitutes an ‘older prisoner’ varies, there are three groups of older prisoners: those who have grown old in prison as a result of lengthy sentences imposed when they were younger; recidivists who have come in and out of incarceration over a long period of time; and, those who were incarcerated for the first time in their 50s and 60s. Older prisoners, not unlike older adults in mainstream society, can present with varying degrees of chronic disease, disability, mental health and addiction issues. Providing care however to older adults in an environment where public safety and security are paramount brings with it unique and unprecedented challenges. Governments around the world are grappling with similar issues such as, how do we define an older adult within the prison context? how do we address the needs of older prisoners within the context of population management? what are the health care needs of aging prisoners and how do we meet those needs given the realities of prison life?
This 90 minute interactive workshop has three objectives: 1) to shed light on the health care needs of older prisoners, a segment of society often hidden from view; 2) to share the results of an international systematic review of aged care interventions for older prisoners, 3) to present the Correctional Service of Canada’s (CSC) proposed approach to addressing the health care needs of Canada’s older adults in custody and engage workshop participants in an interactive discussion on the proposed approach and how to best meet the needs of older prisoners.
The IFA 2018 Global Conference is expected to attract aging experts from across the globe including researchers, policy makers, practitioners and community based organizations. This workshop has a practical focus and provides a unique opportunity to participate in what is expected to be a highly interactive dialogue on how to best meet the needs of an older adult prison population. Participants will be encouraged to share their views and expertise on the proposed approach including areas specific to health care related assessment and screening. As most people have not had the opportunity to work with older prisoners, this workshop provides an opportunity to hear perhaps for the first time, what it is like behind the prison walls, the realities of incarceration for older adults and some of the myths that often create a narrative around this hidden population of older people.
