For years, the Santa Barbara County Main Jail on Calle Real in South County has faced lawsuits alleging poor medical practices, but a new grand jury report published on June 24 may offer some insight into what inmates have been experiencing.
More specifically, the report issued by the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury outlined several problems between the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office—which operates the jail—and Tennessee-based Corizon Health—the company contracted to provide medical services in the jail—regarding the medical intake process for inmates.
One finding showed that the jail uses an “antiquated” paper system rather than a computerized one for maintaining inmate medical records.
The report also found that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail, hasn’t always followed proper procedures for the intake of inmates, nor does it have adequate oversight methods to make sure Corizon staff are following those procedures.
Upon entry in the jail, Corizon nurses give inmates a prescreening questionnaire, but the report states that the Medical Process Overview Chart doesn’t reflect this. Also, Sheriff’s Office staff hasn’t always confirmed that Corizon staff medically cleared inmates before being placed into jail, the report found.
In 2015, a handful of inmates individually sued the Sheriff’s Office, alleging their medical conditions were exacerbated after being incarcerated. One former inmate, Gaik Sokhikian, alleged in a lawsuit filed on Oct. 29, 2015, that his broken leg became infected and that he suffered lasting damage after his repeated requests to see a doctor were ignored by jail staff.
The complaints extend to mental health too. Former inmate Jackson Velasco, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, alleged in a lawsuit filed on Nov. 3, 2015, that Corizon staff failed to give him an adequate mental health screening.
In that same year, the jail experienced two inmate deaths. One inmate, 49-year-old Johnny Dewitt collapsed in custody on Nov. 26 and was pronounced dead at a hospital one hour later. Kelly Hoover, the Sheriff’s public information officer, said Dewitt spent several months in the jail’s medical dorm and died from natural causes.
Then in June 2015, 52-year-old Raymond Herrera suffered a series of seizures inside of his cell and died a short time later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. A coroner’s report later released by the Sheriff’s Office attributed Herrera’s death to internal bleeding caused by a ruptured spleen and cirrhosis of the liver.
His daughter, Sharayah Herrera, sued the jail and Corizon Health for the wrongful death of her father in federal court on Nov. 20 that same year.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors renewed Corizon’s contract for 18 more months in September 2015.
When contacted by the Sun, Corizon spokesperson Martha Harbin deferred all questions to Hoover, who told the Sun that the Sheriff’s Office received the report and is in the process of reviewing its findings.
Hoover said some of the findings were difficult to investigate.
“The Grand Jury alleged one instance where our agency’s protocol was not followed,” Hoover said, adding that the Sheriff’s Office will issue a response in the required time frame. “It is important to understand there are more than 14,000 bookings at the Main Jail a year.”
The Sheriff’s Office has 60 days to respond to the findings.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2016.
