Established by 11 Del. C. § 6518, and revised by House Bill 173, the Adult Correctional Healthcare Review Committee  was created to serve “in an advisory capacity to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Commissioner of the Department of Correction (DOC) on all matters in Delaware’s adult correction system relating to the provision of inmate healthcare services, the review of all inmate deaths and autopsies relating to those deaths, the construction of healthcare contracts that provide inmate healthcare services, and the review of all statistics relating to inmate healthcare.  The Committee shall not be considered a public body as defined by 29 Del. C. § 10002(c).”  11 Del. C. §6518 (m).

Committee Members:

The six voting members of the Committee appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate are:

1. Janet P. Kramer, MD, CCHP, a Delaware licensed physician;
2. Mustafa Mufti, MD, a Delaware licensed psychiatrist;
3. Mandell Much, PhD, a Delaware licensed psychologist;
4. Sandra J Nolan, PhD, RN AHN-BC, a Delaware licensed registered nurse;
5. Brenda James-Roberts, Esq. JD, RN, a member of the Delaware State Bar; and
6. James Harrison, MHS, an expert in the field of substance abuse treatment.

Mustafa Mufti, MD serves as Chair of the Committee and Dr. Mandell Much continues to serve as Vice Chair. In addition to the appointed members of the Committee, other non-voting participants include Deputy Attorneys General (“DAG”) Joanna S. Suder, Esquire, served as counsel for the Committee, DAG Gregory Smith, Esquire, served as counsel for the DOC, Awele Maduka-Ezeh MD MPH., Medical Director of the DOC, Director, Behavioral Healthcare Services for the DOC, Vanessa Bennifield, Behavioral Health Treatment Administrator, Susan Conley, APRN, ACNS-BC, Director of Medical Treatment Services, Tera Young, Behavioral Healthcare Services for the DOC.

Committee Charge

In June of 2019, the code related to ACHRC was modified with HB173. The bill tasks the Committee with advising not only the Commissioner of the Department of Correction but also the Governor and the General Assembly on all matters in Delaware’s adult correctional system relating to the provision of inmate healthcare services, the review of all inmate deaths and autopsies relating to those deaths, the construction of healthcare contracts that provide inmate healthcare services, the review of all statistics relating to inmate healthcare, and any matters relating to adult inmate healthcare that the Committee considers reasonable and worthwhile, including assuring the resolution of identified problems and enhancing the efficient utilization of resources.

The 2019 Adult Correctional Healthcare Review Committee Annual Report is available for your review, and contains additional information about the ACHRC.