Jail Healthcare Costing Taxpayers Millions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Treating jail inmates at local hospitals is costing taxpayers millions. Is it time for a change?
The Allegheny County sheriff says transporting inmates from the jail to the hospital is expensive and creates a dangerous security risk. He's calling for change, and it appears that the county is responding.
When inmates in the Allegheny County Jail have a medical condition that can't be treated in the infirmary, they're transported under armed guard to the hospital. Last year, the county shelled out a half million dollars in overtime for sheriff deputies to stand guard in emergency rooms and hospital rooms – millions over the last ten years.
"I would say we spent probably close to $4 million in overtime just for watching prisoners," Allegheny County sheriff Bill Mullen said.
According to a right-to-know request, the county made 1,272 jail-to-hospital transports in the past year and a half, but wouldn't state the reasons, citing privacy constraints, and could not estimate the cost of the care – although in years past, the out-of-jail hospital bills exceeded $3 million a year.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
Sheriff Mullen says these transports are not only a drain on the taxpayer, they're a danger to his deputies – especially with a recent trend of inmates swallowing objects to get out of jail and attempting to escape.
"A lighter, a pen, broken glass," he said.
At the hospital, some of these inmates have tried to escape – one putting two dozen stitches in a deputy's head. Sheriff Mullen would like to see something change.
"If we could streamline the process of watching them, maybe using the infirmary in jail or possibly building a ward in one of the hospitals, it would certainly make life a lot less dangerous for our deputies," he said.
If the jail could treat more inmates in its infirmary, it would eliminate the need for many of these transports. The Allegheny Health Network, which took over the jail medical operation last year, says it's trying to do just that.
"Care is first, but we have to provide that care understanding the fiscal responsibility of the county," William Johnjulio with Allegheny Health Network said.
AHN replaced fired provider Corizon after seven inmates died in the jail and several families sued the county for insufficient medical care. AHN believes it has significantly upgraded the quality of care and is now trying to treat more inmates in-house.
"To be able to provide care within the four walls of the jail in the infirmary to alleviate the need to transport to the hospital -- that is a big focus," Johnjulio said.
And while AHN has no solution to inmates swallowing objects, it says it will be looking to purchase new technologies to test for fakery, as when some inmates complain of chest pains just to get out of jail.
"Where we can do some of the testing and the same testing they do in the emergency department to make the decision of 'is this real or not,' will save probably a significant amount of dollars," Johnjulio said.
In the short term, the county will spend more money to upgrade the clinic with the long-term goal of providing quality care while saving the taxpayer money by treating the inmates in-house.
