Health Services
Matters of judgment regarding health services will be the sole province of the Health Services staff. Security regulations will be adhered to at all times by the Health Services staff. Health Services personnel will not be asked to provide inappropriate non-medical duties. The primary responsibility of medical personnel is to provide required health services for the entire incarcerated person population who have medical/mental health needs.
Facility medical services include:
- Screening of new bookings
- Pill call rounds in housing areas
- Physician sick call
- Coverage of medical infirmary when incarcerated person occupied
- Referral service for hospitalization and specialty clinics as needed
- Dental services
- Mental Health Services
Medical/Mental Health staff will make timely room visits to non-ambulatory or bed rest recovery room patients in order to complete interviews and/or counseling sessions.
incarcerated persons will not be used for the following duties:
- Performing direct patient care services
- Scheduling health care appointments
- Determining access of other incarcerated persons to Health Care services
- Handling or having access to surgical instruments, syringes, needles, medications, and health records
- Operating equipment for which they are not trained
Scheduled medical and dental appointments will be conducted in designated areas. Health Services personnel will assist in the management of incarcerated persons with medical and mental health problems. The sobering of intoxicated incarcerated persons will be done under the close care of custody staff with medical assistance. Medical detoxification of incarcerated persons will be done under the supervision of Medical staff. Medical and dental prostheses will be authorized when the health of the incarcerated person would otherwise be adversely affected, as determined by a responsible Physician or Dentist. The Medical/Mental Health Program Supervisor or designee, and the Classification Deputy will consult with each other regarding incarcerated persons who are diagnosed as having a psychiatric illness. When appropriate, such consultation could include:
- Housing assignments
- Program assignments
- Disciplinary measures
- Transfers in and out of the Facilities
incarcerated persons will not be used for medical, pharmaceutical, or cosmetic experiments. This does not preclude individual treatment of an incarcerated person based on their need for a specific medical procedure which is not generally available. Incarcerated person health complaints (sick call) will be solicited daily and acted upon by health-trained personnel and followed by appropriate triage and treatment by qualified medical personnel.
incarcerated person initiated medical visits will result in a charge to the inmate of $3.00 per visit. Incarcerated person health service co-pay charges will be exempted for the following care:
- Intake medical screening
- Health appraisals (14-day physicals)
- Public Health evaluations
- Prenatal services and all services related to pregnancy
- Public Health programs that are funded by other sources
- Laboratory and diagnostic services
- Life threatening emergency services
- Follow-up monitoring of chronic health conditions (e.g. hypertension services, seizure monitoring, medications monitoring)
- Mental health services
- Six Month and Annual Physicals
Dental services that are inmate-initiated and are non-emergency or non-life threatening will result in the $3.00 co-pay as an incarcerated person-initiated request for medical service unless the dental service is the result of a medical referral. Medical staff will complete a log of co-pay charges and forward the log daily to Custody Administration. Custody Administration will assign Custody staff to debit the inmate account for the $3.00 co-pay for medical services and for any medication charges.
No incarcerated person will be deprived of medical service as a result of being indigent or for any other purpose. No essential medication will be withheld due to a lack of incarcerated person funds. Rev. Indigent incarcerated persons’ accounts will be debited and the co-pay will remain on the books for no longer than three months or until the inmate’s account receives funds against which the payment can be made.
Inmates desiring the name of a Health Services employee should be given the first name or employee number only. This will allow the inmate to file his writs, but will afford the employee protection and privacy.