By Emily Banks Wooten
[email protected]
The implementation of staff bikes earlier this spring for its 2024 wellness initiative is the perfect example of a workplace not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk.
Management and Training Corporation (MTC) is the private contractor that manages IAH Secure Adult Detention Center, the immigration detention facility located on FM 350 South in Livingston. The facility’s motto is the acronym BIONIC, which stands for “Believe It Or Not, I Care.”
“The BIONIC blue and white bikes represent an encouragement for striving toward a healthy, happy lifestyle. The blue stands for our MTC pride while the white is the inclusiveness within our facility,” Facility Administrator Alexander Sanchez said.
“Our Chief of Security, Pete Coffin, and Deputy Warden, Karl Frawner, shared their excitement by purchasing the bikes’ custom license plates with the BIONIC motto to serve as a reminder that MTC-IAH really does care about its employees and residents,” Sanchez said.
“The executive staff members noticed a shift in morale since the eQIP process and wanted to provide an opportunity for mental and physical moments of peace. We look forward to more exciting ways our staff can decompress in the near future,” Sanchez said.
Since the initiative went live, 27 employees have signed waivers and participated, with an average of three laps per sign-out. The highest number of laps completed in nearly three months is a whopping 157 laps by Mailroom Clerk Jorge Mendez. The runner-up has 123 laps.
“It just goes to show how much our staff are truly enjoying their experience and creating a difference in their mental and physical health. We are proud to have introduced our BIONIC bikes for staff,” Sanchez said.
“While working in corrections, having the opportunity to ride the bikes helps me to decrease stress levels, increase muscle strength and flexibility and gives a different vibe at work whether working in an office or other positions. I am very thankful for the program,” Mendez said.
The two customers of IAH are the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshals Service. The ICE detainees have not broken any laws but have come into the country illegally; whereas the detainees being held for the U.S. Marshals Service have committed crimes, predominantly drugs or firearms related, and are waiting for trial.
The local facility holds up to 1,000 detainees, with security levels of low, medium and high. All of the detainees are adult males. The population changes weekly and serves over 29 different nationalities. Communication with the detainees is assisted through a translator hotline. The average length of stay is eight days.
MTC operates 22 job corps centers, 23 correctional facilities, 13 prisons, three community release centers, seven detention centers, 19 treatment programs, two outpatient behavioral health programs and one workforce development site.
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