The company providing medical care at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail does not expect to get its accreditation for at least six months, despite the fact its contract with the county requires Wellpath to have it by now.
Wellpath/California Forensic Medical Group provides medical services in the Main Jail, Santa Maria Juvenile Hall and Los Prietos Boys Camp, and gave the Board of Supervisors an annual report at Tuesday’s meeting.
There were two in-custody deaths last year, including a “medically-expected death” of a patient with terminal illness, and a suicide, of 45-year-old Goleta man Alexander Ricardo Braid.
The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury’s report on Braid’s death urged the county to address its mental health evaluations of arrestees, and pointed out Wellpath’s lack of accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care.
Registered nurses do medical and mental health evaluations for incoming inmates, and the Grand Jury report concluded that the nurse in Braid’s case failed to follow the evaluation procedure, and the Sheriff’s Office agreed in its official response to the report.
“Wellpath issued a training bulletin immediately after the incident (Braid’s suicide) reinforcing the proper procedure for handling newly admitted detainees who refuse to answer medical/mental intake screening questions,” Sheriff Bill Brown wrote in the response to the Grand Jury report.
A new form implemented in December 2018 helps arresting officers communicate the need for mental health evaluations to custody staff and jail medical staff, and Wellpath procedures now call in mental health staff to evaluate any patient who refuses to answer screening questions, said Amber Nunes, Wellpath’s health services administrator for Santa Barbara County detention facilities.
Regarding the lack of accreditation, Nunes said it will take another six months for the NCCHC to do a site survey, and then at least three months to hear back.
Wellpath has been the county’s detention facilities medical provider since 2017, is also currently negotiating with the county on a contract to serve the new Northern Branch Jail.
Company president Kip Hallman told the Board of Supervisors about the jail’s medication-assisted treatment program and substance abuse counseling for inmates.
MAT programs were almost unheard of in jails even two years ago, but Santa Barbara County agencies submitted a joint grant proposal and started providing it last year, Hallman said.
Wellpath’s report also outlined medical and mental health personnel, prescription medications, and the in-house and off-site services provided to inmates.
It also noted that 12 percent of County Main Jail inmates were taking psychotropic medications (2,988 in 2018).
The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to receive and file the annual report.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.