Methadone

[Crawsu]

I work in a county jail setting and they have recently started giving methadone to inmates that are incarcerated. Has anyone else had to deal with this situation in a correctional setting, and if so, do the methadone clinics handle it, or is your staff expected to take care of it.

We have more or less had it dumped on us. It actually came about due to the psych dept. and they were handling it but unfortunately, both our psych nurses have left( wonder why ) and it has now become medical's responsibility.

Any input would be appreciated.

The real kicker here is that we do not give narcotics in this facility, and if an inmate comes in on methadone for pain control they are put on withdrawl protocol. Only pts. from the methadone program are cotinued on this. Does that make any sense?

Think this has something to do with grant money, not pt care, But that's an opinion on my part.

Any thoughts on this?

[Guppy]

Oh before we dispense we have to call the pharmacy and verify last dose and last drink and the amount and if they are any "carries" before we even do the initial testing for any other drugs and the doctors order and we NEVER give on the the first night in jail......and yes I too have heard it all.....very creative excuses too.....

[doctitelbaum]

Rikers Island is the only jail that has this figured out. If your a nurse in a county jail plead with your supervisors to allow anyone on a program in the street to receive (upon verification with said program) their dose And someone especially younger ones (early 20`s and such) at least offer a detox protocol ,10mg,10mg,5mg,5mg the C.O`s are not trained to deal with anyone who might of just come off the street and got caught stealing Fusion razors pregnancy tests to feed their habits. Any medical professional knows that opiate/opioid withdrawal may not be deadly but the pain and anguish is mortal death and when you add Benzo`s to the equation now your playing with peoples lives.. If you can dispense meds then you can give methadone or at least subutex and adivan Look jail isn`t supposed o be comfortable but if you stabilize these people you don`t have fake chest pains and other med seeking witch wastes your time.. Someones got to die before countys take a look at their detox protocols. If your sentenced to county time on Rikers island (currently over 11,000 inmates) and you come in with a heroin habit and are sentenced to a year or less 12 months they do 8 you can be put on meth maintenance and upon your release you are set up with a program in your neighborhood. Is Methadone the solution? I don`t think so . Complete abstinence and a 12 step program but methadone offers the person a bridge out of the life they were living. County jails that let opiate addicts kick cold turkey is not only sadistic but dangerous these are human beings guys so talk to your supervisors and help not hurt

I speak from experience I have been completely sober for 6 years but when I went to Rikers the first time i was not only getting sick but scared as hell because back then you a short white jewish 22 year old was easy pickings.. The point is a correction facility is supposed to correct.. harm reduction makes for a calmer,safer working environment.. Iv`e watched nurses do nothing as a man had a seizure related to benzo /methadone withdrawal It`s barbaric Make a change you don`t want a 19 year old kids death be on your conscious

[MelodyNelson, LVN]

In our prison, we keep the methadone locked up with the narcs, and the LVNs pass it with the other meds. We have a DOT/Crush and float policy, the same we use with the narcs. Then again, by the time they hit prison, they are supposed to be detoxed, and the methadone is used for pain control.