Stats in county jails

[nurseT]

Does anyone working county jails out there keep statistics? I keep monthly statistics on various issues such as, # of inmates sent to the dentist, # of inmates the Doctor examined, # of nurse sick call visits (I consider a response to a medical request a nurse visit), # of infections and then what type, # of antibiotics, psych meds, cardiac meds and # and type of OTC's used, etc. There are some interesting results to all these stats. You can see trends RE: increases in inmates that are methamphetamine users and see the increase in dental visits rise. Our state has a problem with Meth labs and the local news came to our jail to interview on the severity of the problem. I did not want to be on TV, (no desire to be a big shot), so I gave the stats to the LT and he did the interview. do you keep stats, and how do you utilize them?

[crjnursewarrior]

Nurse T,

I know that the company I work for keeps stats, many of the same ones that you mentioned. They also keep track of Infectious diseases, these of course, are reported to state health dept. as required by law. The other stats I know play some part in their staffing R/T acuity of pt's we are seeing. We, too, have a large number of inmates that come in addicted to meth and that have all the problems that go along with that. We also have a large number of Hep. C+ inmates. Staggering and scary!!!!

[cmoffettgcj]

I work in a county jail as the administrator of medical. We keep stats on everything you mention, plus more. We track all off-sites (inmates going out to a contracted hospital, including ER) Infectious disease, Mental health, chronic care clinics, blood clinics, Pap clinics, triage, segregation rounds, health assessments, annual health assessments, HIV/Hep C screening, PPD administration and results, grievances, inmates on medications (psych and medical) etc...... We utilize all of our numbers for staffing, location of possible outbreaks (MRSA or staph inf. is new and rising due to in-house tatoos) TB conversion rates and to ensure inmates are being seen in lock down and have access to medical. These numbers have to be turned in to our State for verification or jusitification of funds provided to the county in the Tobacco Suit from years ago (unsure how and why?). We also have to report them to our contract monitor to ensure we are upholding our part of our contract. We report these numbers monthly, quarterly and annually. They are helpful in scheduling staff, bidding for contracts and pretty amazing when you look to see how much work is actually done in a month. It also shows me if work is not getting completed when you see a number drop significantly. You work with your staff to find out if it is an increase in the work load, securtiy not available, or a procedural break down. Once you get a log created the numbers are easy to track and well worth the effort when selling your site to new nurses, commissioners court, your company or to brag on your staff and help keep their moral up. As in your case to inform the public. Cheryl

[nurseT]

I work in a county jail as the administrator of medical. We keep stats on everything you mention, plus more. We track all off-sites (inmates going out to a contracted hospital, including ER) Infectious disease, Mental health, chronic care clinics, blood clinics, Pap clinics, triage, segregation rounds, health assessments, annual health assessments, HIV/Hep C screening, PPD administration and results, grievances, inmates on medications (psych and medical) etc...... We utilize all of our numbers for staffing, location of possible outbreaks (MRSA or staph inf. is new and rising due to in-house tatoos) TB conversion rates and to ensure inmates are being seen in lock down and have access to medical. These numbers have to be turned in to our State for verification or jusitification of funds provided to the county in the Tobacco Suit from years ago (unsure how and why?). We also have to report them to our contract monitor to ensure we are upholding our part of our contract. We report these numbers monthly, quarterly and annually. They are helpful in scheduling staff, bidding for contracts and pretty amazing when you look to see how much work is actually done in a month. It also shows me if work is not getting completed when you see a number drop significantly. You work with your staff to find out if it is an increase in the work load, securtiy not available, or a procedural break down. Once you get a log created the numbers are easy to track and well worth the effort when selling your site to new nurses, commissioners court, your company or to brag on your staff and help keep their moral up. As in your case to inform the public. Cheryl

Wow, Your jail must be huge. We hold 225 inmates and stay under 200 most of the time. Keeping the kind of stats you keep is a job all by itsself. Quality assurance and planning improvement.