Luis* is a 45-year-old Hispanic male. While he is able to communicate somewhat in English, he is not fluent. Luis was incarcerated for less than a year and recently re-entered our community. Luis was a referral to WellSpan team in our Special Programs department from York County Prison staff. Paulette, the Community Health Worker primarily assigned to re-entry work met with him in the prison. He was very eager for all assistance to support a successful re-entry and anxious to see his girlfriend and grown children.
Luis’s girlfriend had housing to support his return and his previous employment as a tree cutter was reinstated the day after release. The Special Programs team connected Luis with a WellSpan recovery specialist to establish care with a WellSpan practice, which had co-located medication-assisted treatment, primary care and behavioral health support. He was also supported by a case management team.
Luis was released with five days of medications. Paulette reached out to him twice his first week home. Luis kept all appointments. He had one re-usage relapse but did not miss any appointment and commitment remains. He is on a solid path to successful re-entry, supported by the wrap around services from the team.
Over the past year and a half, WellSpan staff dedicated time and resources to learn more about an individual’s journey through the prison system and the challenges faced when facilitating re-entry. York County Prison leadership and WellSpan staff worked together with other partners to develop processes to better support successful transitions with the shared goal of reduced repeat offenders, improved health outcomes, and more appropriate use of health care resources.
*His name was changed to protect their privacy.