Jail clinic saves money

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A new medical clinic at the Allen County Jail has inmates getting more effective care than ever before, and as NewsChannel 15 found it's also saving the county money.

The county used about fifty-thousand dollars in federal grant money to renovate the jail's old kitchen into a one room clinic. Before the 19 people that make up the medical staff worked on three different floors and several different rooms in the jail.

"The efficiency has greatly increased," said Director of Health Services Pam Thornton. "We're able to talk with each other right away about issues before we were on different floors."

The staff includes one doctor, 11 nurses, a qualified medication aide, a clerk and a paramedic. As a team, they see 20 to 30 inmates a day for health issues ranging from diabetes to wound care.

The greatest cost saver of the new clinic is the inmates' dental bills, though. Before the new clinic opened, ten to 15 patients a week had to be driven to a private dentist for any and all complaints. Now, an onsite doctor that is a dentist as well can offer care, lowering the cost... and cutting man power used for the transport. Jail officials estimate the dental program has saved three to five thousand dollars since it was implemented in March. In years past, the sheriff's department spent about 60 to 70 thousand dollars per year on dental alone. If the savings continue like they have for the first quarter of the clinic, it will save the county around 12 to 15 thousand dollars a year.

Inmates do have to cover some of their healthcare costs. Thornton said the medical clinic charge $15 for a requested office visit, as opposed to a mandated visit, and $10 for a prescription. Inmates' families and friends can deposit that money into an account for the inmate.

Updating health services at the jail has been a priority for Chief Deputy Dave Gladieux since he took office under Sheriff Ken Fries in 2007. NewsChannel 15 asked him why it was so important to him. He summed up his answer with two words: lawsuit prevention.

"Sure this looks pretty elaborate," said Gladieux from the office area of the clinic. "I'm sure some people might say, 'Man, why do these inmates have such good healthcare?' Well, pay now or pay later."

For the medical staff working at the clinic, their patients tell-tale, bright orange jumpsuits are easy to ignore. They see them as patients who need and deserve healthcare.

"If that was your child, or your parent," said Thornton. "You wouldn't want them to get worse with no healthcare." Thornton also added the jail screens for communicable diseases like TB. Health issues like these might not have been caught if the inmate hadn't gotten checked into county lock-up.

The yearly budget for healthcare at the jail is almost $900 thousand. That does not include staff salaries. Jail officials say about half the budget goes to pay for prescription drugs.