Since the county’s Department of Public Health hired two full-time medical professionals to bird-dog the medical care provided in the two county jails, the quality of that care — provided by the private company Wellpath — is “demonstrating significant improvements,” according to a Public Health report card submitted to the Board of Supervisors this week. Given that the report showed that Wellpath only met five of the 19 categories tracked by the auditors, there’s clearly significant room for even more improvement.
According to Aaron Stilwell, Correctional Health Quality Care Improvement Manager, both jails are completing timely intake screenings and good initial response to sick call requests. But the report indicates that care fell below the required levels of completing the initial health assessment in a timely manner, as well as providing TB screenings, or the prescribed medications when an inmate is released. However, the jails are using restrictive safety cells less often, more inmates are now getting medically assisted treatment for drug addiction more quickly, and there is no longer a waiting list. Inmates don’t have to go through withdrawals before receiving such treatment.
Despite these improvements, the new North County jail failed to meet the four safety cell protocols. In the main jail, it failed three out of four times. In the Santa Barbara jail, Wellpath met its goal for post–suicide watch follow-up 56 percent of the time when the goal was 90 percent. What has triggered this higher level of medical oversight was not only the poor handling of mental health and addiction issues, but also the discovery that the county was paying for services that Wellpath wasn’t providing. At that time, oversight was left to the Sheriff’s Office, and county supervisors complained that those administrators were allowing Wellpath to violate the terms of its contract without consequence.
