Correctional Health Services – Our Services

NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services has the unique opportunity to cushion the impact of incarceration and the responsibility to address the health needs of patients to better prepare them to leave jail and not return.

Our work includes the following.

Enhanced Pre-Arraignment Screening Services

Beginning in November 2016 in Manhattan to October 2020 in Staten Island, CHS established its Enhanced Pre-Arraignment Screening Services (EPASS) citywide. Operating in Central Booking in the courthouses in all five boroughs, EPASS screens individuals who are in the post-arrest, pre-arraignment period for priority health conditions that may require point-of-care treatment or referral to the hospital. Through these screenings, EPASS helps avoid disruptions or delays in the arraignment process, unnecessary diversions to a hospital, and identifies high-risk patients who may be remanded to jail. EPASS also works with defense counsel to support alternatives to detention.

Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation Service

In 2018, CHS created a consolidated Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation Service (FPES) working in the criminal courthouses in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. FPES serves as the City’s forensic psychiatric expert, conducting court-ordered examinations of adult criminal defendants related to competence to stand trial or pre-sentencing investigations. It also provides support to individuals who have been determined to be unfit and are awaiting restoration to competence or are restored to competence and awaiting resumption of legal proceedings. The FPES team assist the Court to ensure defendants receive fair and timely resolution of their cases.

Jail-Based Services

CHS provides the full range of healthcare services to all persons in the custody of the NYC Department of Correction. Our jail-based services include the following:

• Complex Care
• Creative Arts Therapy
• Dental Care
• Dialysis
• Gender-Related Services
• Imaging Services
• Laboratory Services
• Medical Care
• Mental Health Care
• Nursing Services
• Patient Relations
• Patient Medical Records
• Pharmacy Services
• Social Work Services
• Specialty Services

Re-entry and Transition Services

CHS makes core reentry services available to all patients and individualized discharge plans to patients with particular clinical needs including all patients who receive mental health care.  Through our reentry services, CHS focuses on increasing access to community resources that can help patients maintain and improve their well-being after release.

Our reentry services team also operates the Clinical Court Advocacy service which provides, with consent, information to defense attorneys that can help identify alternatives to detention that better support a patient’s clinical needs.      

While CHS begins reentry work with patients as early as their admission to jail, it is also focused on supporting patients as they leave jail. 

• In January 2023, CHS opened its Reentry Service Center on Rikers Island for persons leaving jail.  On their way off the island, people can stop by the center to make a call; get help connecting with community resources; get transit fares, toiletry kits, COVID-19 test kits, coffee and a snack.  Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight, the Center is located next to the Q100 bus stop in front of the Samuel L. Perry Center.
• After release, everyone can access CHS’ Community Re-entry Assistance Network (CRAN) to receive support and referrals to community-based services. CRAN offices (below) are open Mon–Fri 9am–5pm. Walk-ins are available at the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens offices; call ahead to make an appointment for Staten Island.
  • Bronx
    1020 Grand Concourse, North Professional Wing, Bronx, NY 10451
    (718) 538-7416
  • Brooklyn
    175 Remsen Street, 5th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201
    (718) 975-0180
  • Manhattan
    80 Centre Street, Suite 200C, New York, NY 10013
    (718) 975-1180
  • Queens
    Queens Blvd., Suite 225, Kew Gardens, NY 11415
    (718) 261-4202
  • Staten Island
    120 Stuyvesant Place, Suite 410, Staten Island, NY 10301
    (718) 727-9722
• CHS operates the Point of Re-entry and Transition telephone service, or PORTLine, a general helpline for people who are in, or have been in, the New York City jail system. Peers provide informational support, connect callers to reentry assistance, make referrals to community-based healthcare and social service providers, assist with post-release prescriptions, and schedule appointments with the PORT Practices. PORTLine staff take calls at (646) 614-1000 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• The PORT Practices are primary care clinics available to all individuals released from the New York City jail system. The clinics, located at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, are staffed by peer community health workers (CHWs) and physicians from CHS and from NYC Health + Hospitals facilities who are sensitive to the challenges faced by those with histories of criminal-legal system involvement. In addition to providing care, the clinics connect patients to other treatment providers and community-based social supports. Call the PORTline at (646) 614-1000 to make an appointment today.

Patient Relations

Our Patient Relations department manages requests and complaints from patients, family members, attorneys, and other external parties relating to the health care CHS provides. Patient Relations investigates all concerns regarding health services in the jails and shares all requests for care with the relevant clinic staff. If you have concerns about the health care provided in the City’s jails, then you can contact the CHS Patient Relations department by calling (347) 774-7030 from Monday through Friday, during the hours of 8:00am to 4:00pm, or emailing CHSPatientRelations@nychhc.org at any time

Medical Records

Our Medical Records Unit is responsible for processing requests for medical records of current and former CHS patients and works to ensure that the process is efficient, comprehensive, accurate, and compliant with all applicable laws. If you would like to request the medical records of a current or former patient, please the CHS Medical Records Unit at CHSMedicalRecords@nychhc.org, send a fax to (347) 774-8153, or mail your request to:

NYC H+H/Correctional Health Services
CHS Medical Records Unit
49-04 19th Avenue
Astoria, NY 11105

Please note that a patient consent form is required by law in order for medical records to be released. If you have any questions, please call (646) 614-0100.

Creative Arts Therapy

Through CHS’ Creative Arts Therapy program – the oldest and largest jail-based arts therapy program in the country – CHS’ licensed creative art therapists help patients with mental health needs to create visual art, poetry, dramatic works, dance, and music as a strategy for wellness and healing. Recent public exhibitions of our patients’ work include “Beautiful Humans” and “Creating Within.”

The exhibition continues on the Bloomberg Connects app with an array of additional artwork, songs, and written compositions inspired by CHS patients’ experiences and journeys. Use the QR code below to download the app.