Topic: The Club House / Hospitalized Inmates getting visits?

In my opinion from a medical standpoint (I am also a Cert. CO) NO!!!! These inmates usually manipulated the admin to allow them to go to the ER, because they called Mommy. Mommy calls the Sheriff to tell them we are neglecting their baby medical attention. The ER Doctors see a chance to make money and decised to carve on the inmate to remove the boil or infection. This in turn requires hospitalization at the expense of the county. Forget the fact that this these alments can be treated by antibiotics. It all rolls down to money. The safey and security issue for us goes out the window, but I can bet my life on it. When a family member or a gang member comes into the hospital and lights up the ward with gun fire to assist in freeing this person from our custody. The picture will be loud and clear. Then things will change immediately. When an inmate is being admitted I always tell the hospital staff that this person is a gang member regardless if they are or not. Then the hospital staffs’ flags go up It helps

Topic: The Club House / Medical Staff 24/7 on call

Thanks for the encouraging works from the CO side stand point. You have pinpointed an area that the majority of my co-workers (the officers) seem to overlook in my line of work of medical. I am a one man (or woman) show in our 124-bed county facility, which is fixing to expand to a 200-bed facility within a year. I wish I could find the help and or support from my co-workers to do my job it would make my life a lot easier. Little to they know I am working one on one with the Capt. and the Sheriff and with that responibility come frequent butt chewings that they don’t see. Then… dealing with the inmate’s Mommies and Daddies this is the worst! I am to drop EVERYTHING and rush their baby to the ER for hemerriods, because their infant that screwed up is dying… Please. But on the key note having more days of would be extremely helpful for the medical staff to NURSE our health and sanity.

Topic: Health & Wellness / How Do You Feel

Drhoyer, I’m pleased to know there are future nurses or medical professional that would like to take a trip on my shoes. I will be pleased to give you an idea of what I deal with on a daily bases. I have been working in the correction health system for 2 years, worked on the streets as a paramedic for 8 years and worked in the hospital setting for 7 years. The safest setting for me have been in the jails. I have never been physically harmed, but I have been threaten numberous times. This is one of the factors that is expected and come with the job. I’m the only medical officer availible to our 124 bed facility. This shows the shortage medically trained professionals in the field. In Co facilities, this is all the budget usually allows one trained medical professional. These types of people have excellent skills of manipulation to get what they want be it meds to sustain their high or a field trip out of the jail (complaining of cheat pain, back pain, having a stoke). These students need to have extremily good skills at patient assessments/ head to toe assessments. They need to have a strong grasp of understanding a patient’s vital signs. Use you assessment tools: Pulse OX, stethoscope, EKG/ 12-lead. These tools will help determine the severity of the patient. They need to have knowlegde of budgets, many of these facilities deals with minimal funding for medical expences. This aspect also deals with our paychecks. Stepping off the ambulance to work in the Co. jail my bi-weekly pay got cut in half. The other facet of my job is coordinating doctor appointments with 5-6 (possible more) other medical enities. I have known inmates come to jail for free medical treatment, because they have to pay full price for medical care in the free world. Their way of thinking place it on the tax payers shoulders. This field of medicine comes with a diffient types of stresses medical professionals don’t deal with in a hospial or clinical setting. The rewards that one accomplishes in this field evolves around strong knowledge of medicine and your skills.

Topic: Health & Wellness / Controlling diabetes

Pam I have had luck controlling some inmates sugar levels that uses pills and or insulin by closely monitoring thier caloric intake. These diabetics are usually borderline. I have had some inmate that will intentional increase their sugar intake because they want a field trip out of the jail. They know they get to go to the ER.