Day in the Life: COO of a Correctional Healthcare Company

By Renee Hewitt

Originally published by Daily Nurse on January 7, 2025.

In an era where healthcare access remains a pressing issue, correctional healthcare companies play a crucial role in ensuring that incarcerated individuals receive essential medical services. These companies bridge the gap between the healthcare system and the unique needs of the incarcerated population, addressing not only physical health issues but also mental health and substance abuse challenges. By providing comprehensive care within correctional facilities, these organizations contribute to inmates’ well-being and promote public health and safety.

Susanne Moore, RN, JD, is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NaphCare, a leading correctional healthcare company. We spoke with Moore about the challenges and rewards in her role at NaphCare.

What follows is our interview, edited for length and clarity.

How did you become interested in serving as the COO of NaphCare? What drew you to it? How long have you been doing it?

NaphCare approached me in early 2013 because of my experience working in the medical, legal, and business fields. I was running my law practice, but they liked that I had previously served as a medical defense litigator, later as in-house counsel for a university medical school, had worked for several years as an RN, and had started businesses of my own. When I started the position, it was to oversee the company’s legal department and one of its clinical departments.

Over time, I picked up additional departments and ultimately was promoted to overall operations. The experience I had developed in law, medicine, and business operations over the years turned into the greatest gift because it gave me perspective on how to solve a multitude of issues. I was so impressed by NaphCare’s ownership and leadership teams and their dedication to doing the right thing. I loved the passion and energy of the operations leadership team, which nurses primarily led. I joined in 2013 as Executive Vice President and moved into my role as COO in 2017.

Explain what you do providing strategic executive leadership of healthcare delivery to local and state correctional facilities.

I oversee NaphCare’s comprehensive healthcare operations in nearly 60 local and state correctional facilities across 14 states. Each state has varying regulations, accreditation standards, and approaches to delivering high-quality patient care, so my role can be a bit of a balancing act, trying to see things from a governmental, legal, and medical perspective. Ultimately, my goal is to deliver innovative solutions to our clients and patients while supporting our amazing teams of healthcare professionals and maintaining long-term financial stability and viability.

What types of patients does NaphCare serve? What do you provide for them?

NaphCare provides innovative healthcare, technology, and administrative solutions to address complex problems facing today’s incarcerated population and correctional systems. NaphCare’s ownership and leadership have always pioneered advancements in correctional healthcare.

We were the first to develop medication-assisted treatment programs for the opiate-addicted population, the first to develop a corrections-specific electronic health record (EHR), and the first to develop a team of corporate-based 24/7 mid-level providers to support all of our field sites around the clock. NaphCare now has a nonprofit foundation dedicated to innovating and improving care for this population and making this knowledge open source.

In my time at NaphCare, I’ve helped to define our Proactive Care Model as a core element of our operational philosophy. I also had the opportunity to help lead our teams through the COVID-19 pandemic and completely revamp our approach to recruitment and hiring in the difficult healthcare labor markets that followed.

Since you’re a nurse and licensed attorney, can you detail your educational journey for this role?

I began my college career in pre-med with the plan of obtaining my bachelor’s in nursing first. I worked for a couple of years after college and then started taking practice MCATs and LSAT exams. I quickly realized my aptitude was much more aligned with the law than medicine, even though I loved both!

What do you like most about working as COO of NaphCare?

What excites me about my job and NaphCare is the strong culture of supportive, positive people focused on continuous improvement. Nothing is ever status quo, and there’s a constant buzz of new ideas, projects, and technologies that I find truly invigorating. I thoroughly enjoy being a member of a dynamic and diverse C-suite. They are all outstanding people who inspire me daily to grow and strive.

Our teams of professionals throughout the corporate office and at the sites are truly committed to our values and to our patients, and that makes every day a joy and an honor. I appreciate each and every one of our nurses and other staff immensely. I often hear our nurses say they wish they had discovered NaphCare and correctional healthcare years ago, and they never want to leave.

What are your biggest challenges in your role?

The nature of my work can be generally challenging at times. Not only are we delivering healthcare across state lines, but we’re working with local and state governments in a way that most healthcare companies don’t have the opportunity to. There are so many laws and rules to comply with, which can be very complex. These challenges were considerably heightened in the past few years as pandemic-related labor shortages and supply chain issues arose. There is a stigma associated with correctional healthcare, and it is often a target of negative media. Still, after working in community health, major hospitals, and correctional healthcare, I can genuinely say that the healthcare we provide in these facilities is nationally accredited and very on par with community standards.

Do you have a favorite story about your job you’d like to share?

I want to point out that it is not necessarily a personal story but the sentiment I’ve gathered from the stories of the nurses I work with at NaphCare. In getting to know them personally, I have understood their preference for working in correctional settings over traditional hospital environments. They’ve shared diverse, interesting, and heartwarming stories with me about the challenges and fulfillments they experience daily. They talk about the gratitude of patients, how the environment feels less grinding than hospitals, and how they feel a level of professional autonomy unique to the setting. Most importantly, they believe serving this underserved population allows for a profound, immediate impact. They often tell me these patients are more respectful and grateful than many patients they have cared for in hospitals. I’ve heard so many stories of our patients entering the system in dire straits and leaving stabilized after receiving consistent, compassionate care. Supporting this team of fabulous nurses is a large part of what affirms my commitment to this vital work.

What are your most significant rewards in your role?

I’ve heard so many stories of our patients entering the system in dire straits and leaving stabilized after receiving consistent, compassionate care. Supporting this team of nurses is a large part of what affirms my commitment to this vital work. It’s not lost on me that this can be emotionally demanding work, and I feel lucky to have the support of the people I work with. Because of their dedication, I’m rewarded by the impact I see on our patients’ experiences.

Is there anything else that is important for our readers to know?

I think it’s important to be aware of how communities and governments are starting to rally together to support long-term recovery programs for the incarcerated population. During this process, we’re starting to think more about the ‘whys’ that are the root cause behind people ending up in the prison system and how those can be addressed. We’re also noticing an increase in funding for correctional healthcare, particularly for opioid treatment, mental health services, and continued care in the community after release. These are the kinds of things that instill hope and pride in me as a participating member of these communities.