NCJ Number
167426
Journal
Sheriff Volume: 49 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-February 1997) Pages: 14-15,52
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Sheriffs need to use creativity to provide medical services to their jail inmates, because budgets are often not commensurate with the sharply increasing costs involved.
Abstract
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office has a $33.5 million operating budget and a 600-person medical staff to serve an average daily inmate population of 20,000. In contrast, Bell County (Tex.) has a budget of $33,500 for an average daily inmate population of 670. The sheriff uses a local contract physician as well as three full-time nurses; the goal is to maintain at least the inmate's current medical status. The sheriff of Davison County (S. Dak.) uses the county paramedic service to provide a regular sick call in the jail. The Scotts Bluff County (Nebr.) sheriff's office uses three county health department nurses, who rotate through the jail twice a week with their contract physician to serve the average daily population of approximately 62 inmates. The sheriff of Benton County (Ind.) uses deputies or correctional officers to take sick inmates to the office of one of the two local physicians; the doctor charges $40 per office call. The county charges a co-payment of $10 to reduce free rides, as well as a $3 co-pay for prescriptions. South Carolina's Dillon County has a largely indigent jail population; it handles emergencies at a local doctor's office or the emergency room, and a part-time nurse comes once every 10 days to screen the inmates. Photograph