Not nursing related

[banditrn]

I've seen several posts here, where the nurses state that the staff can sometimes be harder to deal with that the inmates.

My son recently had to serve two weeks in a county jail for an old DWI charge - in the year since this happened, he has been off the booze - but he still had to serve his time - and that's not the problem. He was guilty. He's a decent guy, but he screwed up, and all this has taught him an important lesson. We had been trying to tell him that he was an alcoholic, but he was in denial, said he could stop anytime. Well, after he was first picked up, and went into re-hab, he went thru a major withdrawal, and has been clean since.

The problem was with the county jail - he said it was disgustingly filthy, and had mold on the walls - and he said each jailer had a separate set of rules, and he said some of them were real jacka##es.

Now, I don't feel that being in jail should be a happy trip, but this place seems a little over the top. I finally had to call his lawyer, because they hadn't let him have clean clothes in over a week. I heard stories from many people who told me how nasty the place was.

Is there some regulatory agency that oversees these places? It seems like they should have to maintain SOME levels of cleanliness.

[NurseAngie]

the thought of wearing the same underwear for two weeks was disgusting to me!!

Inmates are allowed to have fresh change of underwear. They purchase them new from the canteen (jail store, if you will) and wash them in the sink. Uniforms are exchanged weekly. I can not imagine how the laundry would ever keep up if it was done more frequently. Also, the inmates are permitted to clean their cells on a daily basis at the county jail where I work (there are unit workers that clean the general areas). Funny, but there are many that would rather call their mothers than pick up a broom. Sad, but true.

[fiestynurse]

banditrn - I am sorry that you did not get the responses that you wanted, but "Me thinkst you doeth protest too much."

[IveSeenIt]

You could have called the Public Health Department and complained. That might have triggered an inspection.

In addition, there is usually some type of internal grievance process in most jails. Your son could have used this to request a clean set of clothes.

Finally, I have to say that by listening to your son whine about his miserable time in jail (a situation that he created) and for you to call his lawyer is rather co-dependent and only further enabling your son. He is a grown man. I hope that you are attending Alanon meetings for family members of alcoholics.

Where do you get your information? She can complain to the DOC or Health department or whomever, and nothing will get done. It costs money to do this and you're talking about a big business who is in it for the money and not to take proper care of or have health considerations for this minority of people.

The inmate greivance process is a long process that works about as wellas every politician after you elect them into office. If you are not familiar with it, don't mention it. Inmates have died waiting on the grievance process.

I say give the woman whose "loved one" is incarcerated some respect or you may find yourself in her situation some day with a loved one of yours. What she needs to know is it's all about money ... a booming business not much interested in keeping anyone healthy. What a shame.

[fiestynurse]

It is different in each State and in each County, but many jails have regular inspections from the Public Health Department. Many PHDs work closely with the Jail Administration to control infectious diseases, like Tb and MRSA.

I have also seen the ACLU get very aggressive in situations like this. I know some County jails that have an ACLU Omsbudman that spends all day resolving inmate concerns.

The 9th Circuit just ruled that an inmate must exhaust all the internal grievance procedures prior to filing a lawsuit. This has ensured that the grievance process itself is not cumbersome and is not meaningless. Many Jail Administrators have learned that having a good grievance process is their best way to ward off lawsuits by dealing with issues before they get out of hand. Historically, the grievance system was developed to prevent riots.

Your last paragraph is just ridiculous. Are you an inmate?