A number of factors including staffing shortages, ineffective screening of infected employees, a lack of stable leadership and a delay diagnosing an inmate with COVID-19 symptoms contributed to the outbreak at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex, according to a watchdog report.
The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Justice released a report, titled “Remote Inspection of Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc,” that spelled out conditions that contributed to the outbreak.
Between April 23 and May 1, the OIG conducted a remote inspection of Lompoc “to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the complex and to assess the steps Lompoc officials took to prepare for, prevent and manage COVID-19 transmission,” according to the report.
The report cited a number of factors, such as preexisting shortages of medical and correctional staff, that led to the widespread cases among federal correctional institution inmates. The shortage meant a delay fully implementing staff movement restrictions for 15 days after the BOP directed further modified operations.
“Lompoc’s initial COVID-19 screening process was not fully effective. We identified two staff members who came to work in late March after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and whose symptoms were not detected in the screening process to preclude them from working,” the OIG report stated.
Likewise, an inmate who reported March 22 that he had symptoms for two days was examined by medical staff who did not suspect COVID-19. On March 30, a test confirmed the inmate had COVID-19.
The OIG said staff “should have taken greater precautions to isolate an inmate with an indeterminate illness that could have been related to COVID-19. Keeping this inmate in general population for several days increased the risk of COVID-19 transmission to institution staff and other inmates,” the report stated.
BOP officials contend that the Lompoc staff considered COVID-19 unlikely since the community had few cases at the time and the inmate did not have a fever or other typical symptoms.
“The BOP further stated that the fact that the inmate was seen four times in five days reflects appropriate ongoing monitoring of the inmate’s illness,” the report noted, adding that hospital staff focused on gastrointestinal symptoms and initially suspected he had an infected gallbladder.
The extent of the outbreak became obvious when the BOP conducted mass testing of FCI inmates, leading to nearly 900 positive tests. Similar universal testing at the neighboring U.S. Penitentiary did not occur.
“Subsequently, Lompoc officials indicated to the OIG that the institution would not continue testing of all inmates because the outbreak at the USP and camps had subsided and universal testing was no longer warranted, although ‘targeted testing in specific units that have an active case’ might be conducted on an as-needed basis,” according to the OIG report.
While prison officials contended that they had enough personal protective equipment, a survey of staff identified that more PPE for staff was an immediate need with one claiming staff had been told to share eye protection, an action that did not comply with guidelines.
The Lompoc prisons’ physical limitations also hampered efforts to create physical distancing, alleviated by setting up cots for inmates in the FCI’s gym and closed factory since some dormitory style-bunk beds sit 3 feet apart from each other.
“The lack of a permanent leadership team and the physical characteristics of Lompoc facilities contributed to deficiencies in Lompoc’s response to COVID-19,” according to the report.
Lompoc’s prison complex had been led by three different acting wardens since the onset of the institution’s outbreak and more than half — nine of 14 — of the Lompoc management officials interviewed were temporary staff from another facility or institution staff who had operated in an acting capacity since March.
The report also noted the BOP’s “extremely limited” use of home confinement in response to the spread of COVID-19 as a mechanism to reduce either the at-risk inmate population or the overall prison population to boost the ability for physical distance.
As of May 13, more than 900 Lompoc inmates had contracted COVID-19, but only eight inmates had been transferred to home confinement in accordance with BOP guidance, the OIG noted.
For comparison, the OIG also reviewed cases at the Tucson facility, which had one staff member and no inmate cases.
The reports include finding only and lack recommendations, with the information intended to assist the federal officials in identifying strategies to contain current and future COVID-19 outbreaks.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.