Blog note: this article references a 2018 grand jury report.
After a month in which three people died in Shasta County Jail custody, officials say the medical care inmates receive is "more than adequate," and in some cases, better than what the general public receives.
While officials haven't announced conclusions about what caused each death, early reports from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office show at least two of the inmates were alive and seen suffering from medical difficulties before their deaths. One of them, Leo Frank Graham, died after being treated at a hospital.
Each of the inmates were men from the Redding area, and it could take six to eight weeks before the believed cause of death is made public, while officials wait on toxicology reports.
- Teddy Woodrow Abbie, 58, died on Sept. 12
- John David Adena, 31, died on Sept. 22
- Leo Frank Graham, 42, died on Sept. 25
The jail is overseen by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office and its commander of the custody division, Capt. Dave Kent, who said the safety and security of inmates is a priority.
"In comparison with most hospitals, I think there are some aspects of our care that's better," Kent said.
The jail contracts its in-house medical operations to a Tennessee-based company named Wellpath, which provides correctional care to about 10% of counties in the U.S.
Shasta County pays the company about $250,000 per month, according to a 2018 grand jury report. The same report commended the jail's correctional and medical staff for providing "efficient and compassionate" medical care for inmates.
Kent said the jail has at least 21 medical aids including nurses, doctors, physicians assistants, mental health workers and a dentist. In general, Kent said, the jail's care is better than what people get in the public.
"If you were to call the doctor because you're sick ... it may take you a week to schedule that to see the doctor" Kent said. "An inmate here will see a doctor, or at least a physician's assistant, within the next 24 hours. So their level of care is sometimes better."
One of the jail residents who died in the last month, John David Adena, was found having "medical difficulties' in his cell at about 5 a.m, and life-saving efforts failed.
When asked whether the jail is considering changing medical protocols, like performing well-fare checks more often, Kent said the jail has a practice of exceeding the minimum standard for the checks.
"So if the law says, check them every 15 minutes or twice every 30 minutes, we'll check them earlier than that," Kent said. "If it's an hour check, we may check them 45 to 50 minutes versus an hour."
Kent said there's a notion that people come into jail and have their health deteriorate rapidly, but in reality, he said, many of the people who come into custody are already in poor condition, be it from pre-existing medical conditions or drugs and alcohol.
In some cases, when an arresting agency brings an injured or sick person into the jail, medical staff recommends the detainee to be brought to the hospital for treatment before being booked.
"It's not frequent. It's not seldom, but it's common," Kent said, adding that if an inmate is returned from the hospital and found not to be in a suitable condition for custody, jail medical staff can recommend the inmate be sent back to the hospital.
There's also an element of unpredictability. In one case, unbeknownst to the jail staff, an inmate ingested a substance while in custody that led to their death, Kent said.
"It's unfortunate that we deal with a very high-risk population," Kent said. "You're talking about almost 500 inmate that come and go from this facility. ... We do the best to stabilize and make sure these people are as healthy as they can be."
October 1, 2019
Redding Record Searchlight
By Matthew Brannon
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