Definitions

Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Self-care tasks including, but not limited to, bathing and showering, personal hygiene and grooming, dressing, toilet hygiene, functional mobility, and self-feeding. Commissioner. The Commissioner of the Department of Correction. Department. The Department of Correction, established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 27, § 1. Debilitating Condition. A physical or cognitive condition that appears irreversible and which causes a prisoner significant and serious impairment of strength or ability to perform daily life functions such as eating, breathing, toileting, walking or bathing so as to minimize the prisoner's ability to commit a crime if released on medical parole, and requires the prisoner's placement in a facility or a home with access to specialized palliative or medical care. Medical Parole. A release on parole pursuant to M.G.L. c. 127, § 119A due to a terminal illness and/or permanent incapacitation, as determined by a licensed physician, that is so debilitating that the prisoner does not pose a public safety risk. Medical Parole Plan. A comprehensive written medical and psychosocial care plan specific to a prisoner and including, but not limited to: (a) the proposed course of treatment; (b) the proposed site for treatment and post-treatment care (home plan); (c) documentation that medical providers qualified to provide the medical services identified in the medical parole plan are prepared to provide such services; and (d) the financial program in place to cover the cost of the plan for the duration of the medical parole, which shall include eligibility for enrollment in commercial insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, or other government benefits, or access to other adequate financial resources for the duration of the medical parole. (Mass. Register #1471 6/10/22) Multidisciplinary Review Team (MRT). A team consisting of the Commissioner's designee, the superintendent of the facility where the prisoner is currently incarcerated, a representative of the Department's health service provider, and the Director of the Department's Classification Division or designee. Parole Board. The Parole Board established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 27, § 4. Permanent Incapacitation. A physical or cognitive incapacitation that appears irreversible, as determined by a licensed physician, that is so debilitating that the prisoner does not pose a public safety risk. Prisoner. A committed offender serving a sentence. Persons who are awaiting trial and persons civilly committed shall not be deemed prisoners for purposes of 501 CMR 17.00. Secretary. The Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Terminal Illness. A condition that appears incurable, as determined by a licensed physician, that will likely cause the death of the prisoner in not more than 18 months, that is so debilitating that the prisoner does not pose a public safety risk.