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mesaay, June it, iyy«Chicago-based National CommissionINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Thestate prison near Putnamville failed to meet 24 of 36 essential standards for providing health care to inmates, and it's not clear who is in charge of those services, records released Mondayshow.A recent inspection also found there are no coordinated efforts toward infection control in the low-to-medium security prison, staff often are not informed about the health status of inmates and it typically takes one to two weeks for an inmate to see a doctor for non-emergency matters.It was the first survey done by theon Correctional Health Care under its new contract to evaluate Indiana’s compliance with laws and standards regulating health care for its nearly17,000 inmates.It is a Department of Correction goal to have health services at all 32 of its facilities accredited by November 1999, as stated in the DOC's contract with Tennessee-based Prison Health Services Inc.The state is paying PHS about $25 million a year to provide medical, dental and mental health services at its prisons in an effort to improve care and control costs.To be accredited, however, prisons must meet 85 percent of standards deemed important by the NCCHC and 100 percent of all essential standards.The report was not all bad news. Among other things, it noted that inmates have sufficient living space and the number of inmate complaints about health care has decreased in recent months.But the Putnamville Correctional Facility, which houses about 1,700 male inmates, failed to meet two-thirds of essential standards in such areas as policies and procedures, infection control and environmental health and safety.The DOC could face additional costs and PHS could be fined $100,000 per prison — depending on who is at fault — if health care programs are not accredited by November 1999.DOC Commissioner Ed Cohn was not surprised by the survey findings nor was he discouraged, said DOC spokeswoman Pam Pattison.“The commissioner believes the survey gives the department a reference point to begin its accreditation process,” she said. “He also said he was confident the department and PHS were up to the challenge of meeting their goals of having allDOC facilities accredited.”The survey noted that PHS is responsible for most health care except nursing services, which are provided by the state, but said there have been conflicting directives between the DOC and PHS.“It is not clear who is in charge of health care services,” the report said.Health staff do not meet to discuss infection control matters or solving problems in the health care unit, the report said. There also were incidents in which biohazardous materialswere not properly discarded.Among other findings:• Inmates were not prohibited frombeing used as health care workers, and they have access to a health care computer to monitor supplies and !payroll. !• Pharmaceutical serv ices were not well coordinated, some drugs were expired and there were no quarterly inspections from a pharmacist. !• Inmates are not medically cleared before being assigned to kitchen ;duties and are not inspected on a daily basis for open sores, skin infections Jand other illnesses transmitted by ;food or utensils. Cockroaches were found in one of the kitchens. ;Pattison said steps are being taken to address the problems.
Newspaper Details
Anderson Herald Bulletin
Anderson, Indiana, US
Tue, Jun 16, 1998
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Monroe C.
IN, USA 11 Dec 2020
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