The Sheriff's Department is charged with the duty of providing medical services to inmates housed in its detention facilities. Along with physicians from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, the Medical Bureau personnel provide comprehensive health care to inmates and have achieved the objectives of accreditation by the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare. Inmates housed in the detention facilities, as well as the citizens of Harris County, benefit from the provision of inmate health services.
Commerce houses the intake screening team.
All inmates are interviewed prior to housing by a health care professional to identify problems that require immediate attention and screened to identify active TB disease. The 1301 Franklin building site, the primary medical area, includes an infirmary with isolation areas. To enable the Sheriff's Department to comply with services required, the Medical Bureau has 154 health care staff and 36 security staff. The Medical Services Bureau of the Harris County Sheriff's Department will become the benchmark for the delivery of correctional medicine nationally. The Bureau provides efficient, effective and compassionate medical care within the constraints of the jail's security operations.