'Extraordinary': Montco Correction Facility's COVID Work Praised

NORRISTOWN, PA — Montgomery County Correctional Facility received its latest accreditation certificate this week, and plaudits from local officials.

The accreditation, the facility's fourth from the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare, comes as coronavirus mitigation measures have largely prevented significant outbreaks.

“The work that the MCCF staff under the helm of Warden Julio Algarin has done over the years to keep our inmates as healthy as possible, and more recently to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the prison, has been extraordinary in keeping the case count low,” Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said.

Only a smattering of cases had been reported at the facility in recent months until this week, when 15 new positives were found among inmates and staff on Wednesday. Another nine inmates tested positive on Friday.

The discovery prompted the facility to undergo its fourth round of complete testing for all prisoners and personnel this week.

Beyond these aggressive testing measures, the county has also sought to control the virus in this contained environment by reducing the population. Some 3,000 prisoners have been released from the facility since March.

The reduction in inmates has been achieved through a variety of methods. The county has granted early parole in certain cases, and is expanding its electronic monitoring of released inmates. In other cases, sentences for convicts have been deferred until a later date, while fines and other administrative penalties have been used for nonviolent crimes.

Currently, the facility has 825 inmates and 360 staff.

The accreditation announced this week is required every three years in remain in compliance with national standards. The next review of the facility will come in spring 2023.

Algarin, meanwhile, is retiring in Jan. 2021.