The Montana Department of Corrections (DOC) has moved all inmates of the infirmary in Lewistown to a new special-needs unit at the Riverside Correctional Facility in Boulder.
The inmates were moved on Friday, April 12.
Nineteen inmates with serious, long-term medical conditions were moved from the Lewistown facility, which was a secure wing that was part of the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center and operated by the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
A DOC press release states the corrections wing opened in 2012 and housed 25 inmates at full capacity.
The Riverside facility formerly housed a program for adult women. Montana has two DOC-contracted women’s treatment facilities and there was not a population to support a third program.
The Riverside Special Needs Unit will accommodate 25 male inmates with plans to be at capacity within the next month. Currently, the facility is employing 27 staff members, according to the DOC.
Montana Department of Corrections Director Reginald D. Michael said repurposing the Riverside Correctional Facility to accommodate the population from the Lewistown Infirmary allowed officials to continue to meet the needs of the offenders.
“We are very pleased to remain in Boulder, and for the continued support we have received from the community,” Michael stated. “We are also very pleased that we have been able to create or maintain employment for 27 people in or around Boulder as we meet our public safety responsibilities. Corrections professionals are the backbone of our agency.”
