The University of Louisville School of Medicine holds the strong belief that every individual deserves high-quality, compassionate health care. As we strive to pass this value to our students and trainees, we hold in high regard our alumni who demonstrate this principle in their chosen career paths.

Farrah Harden, M.D., CCHP, class of 2015 alumni, has emerged as a change-maker in the field of correctional medicine. During her medical education and residency, Dr. Harden discovered her passion for caring for incarcerated patients. Following her training, she chose to dedicate her career to this underserved community. Now Dr. Harden, a physician certified in correctional healthcare, works tirelessly to ensure incarcerated patients nationwide receive comprehensive medical care.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach, Dr. Harden combines her internal medicine training with the expertise of physicians trained in emergency medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, and more. This collaborative effort enables her team to deliver a wide range of services from routine check-ups to life-saving care during medical emergencies. While no two days look the same, Dr. Harden is dedicated to ensuring that the proper care is provided from the time an individual enters through facility intake until the time they are released.

Understanding that incarcerated individuals can be in many states physically, mentally, and emotionally at any time, Dr. Harden works to not only assess the medical needs of her patients, but to establish trust with them. Especially within correctional facilities, she notes that when patients are trusting of the care being provided, they are more receptive to it.

“It became essential to me that my patients see me as a safe space in terms of their medical care and as someone who sees them, hears them, and has their best interests in mind,” Dr. Harden explained.

Dr. Harden’s dedication to patient-centered care reflects lessons learned at ULSOM, where she recognized the transformative impact of listening to a patient’s concerns and involving the patient in their own medical care. She remarked, “When people understand their condition, they are empowered to improve and maintain their health.” In choosing to apply this understanding to correctional medicine, she emphasizes that the same should be applied to any type of care. All patients should be treated with careful understanding and given the opportunity to make inquiries about their condition. As she learned in medical school: “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Returning to Louisville, Dr. Harden will share more of her insights at the Spring Conference on Correctional Health Care hosted by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. Her presentation will dive into her experiences working in urban correctional facilities during the pandemic, highlighting best practices in patient care, administration, and custody-related communication. 

Whether in operating rooms, clinics, classrooms, laboratories, or correctional facilities, ULSOM celebrates the impactful contributions of alumni like Dr. Harden. On World Health Day, we extend our gratitude to all our faculty and alumni for making the choice to improve the lives of the patient populations in our community, Commonwealth and world.