THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994 TAG: 9406290567
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940628 LENGTH: NORFOLK
The sudden firing of Correctional Medical Services, the St. Louis-based company that provided medical care at the jail since August 1989, is almost certain to generate a lawsuit and countersuit, said Jeffrey A. Breit, the sheriff's lawyer. But the move is also designed to head off possible sanctions by the U.S. Justice Department, which is expected to criticize health care in the overcrowded jail severely in a report expected to be released soon.
{REST} ``Our efforts to work out the problems and the shortcomings of CMS' medical obligations have unfortunately proven unsuccessful,'' said George Schaefer, McCabe's spokesman. ``Due to risks to the inmate population, it has become necessary that an immediate change takes place. We are hopeful that this . . . will alleviate any concerns which have been raised by the Department of Justice since their examination of this facility in the late fall of 1993.''
Jail officials blamed the suddenness of the firing on the complete lack of efforts by CMS to contain the threat of infectious diseases, particularly tuberculosis, among inmates. On Monday, the state Health Department could not provide figures for the number of TB reports from the jail, which currently holds 1,350 inmates.
Breit also blamed CMS' lack of medical follow-up, both in terms of record-keeping and dispensing medications, for the termination of the contract.
Jail officials have said that the Feb. 26 death of inmate Jerome Walton Jr. was primarily due to a lack of follow-up by a CMS employee. A memo released by jail officials showed that Walton, a kidney patient who died after missing a dialysis treatment, failed to make his appointment because a medical assistant forgot about him. The assistant received information from deputies that Walton was in the jail's medical block and required medical attention, but failed to do the screening needed for him to be taken to his dialysis treatment.
Walton was the 18th inmate to die in custody in the Norfolk jail since 1983. The majority died after CMS took over medical care in the jail in 1989, and six inmates died last year. Many of the deaths were linked to medical causes.
Last month, the jail paid a doctor to evaluate CMS' services. A major criticism was the lack of adequate medical screening and physical exams of prisoners when they first came into jail in order to pinpoint potential problems. ``Out of 50 charts randomly audited. . . , 40 charts lacked a medical intake screening,'' the report said.
Jail officials also said that CMS did not have a medical plan for disasters, hired unqualified nurses to oversee most of the inmates' health care and was repeatedly paid by the administration of former Sheriff David K. Mapp Jr. for employees who were not present.
One of the most damning, and potentially criminal, allegations made by jail officials Monday was that CMS accepted over $3 million for services that were not called for in the annual contract. ``They charged the jail for cosmetic surgery,'' Breit said. ``There's nothing in the contract that says anything about cosmetic surgery, and as far as we can tell, no cosmetic surgery has been done.''
A lawyer retained by CMS was present at Monday morning's press conference, but would not comment on the charges.
McCabe also did not speak about the termination since he could be called as a witness if there is a lawsuit.
CMS' $1.6 million contract was up for renewal on Aug. 28, but jail officials officially booted them from the jail at 7 a.m. Monday. CMS officials were notified of the move by fax on Sunday evening, Breit said.
Jail and CMS officials have been wrangling over services for months, especially after it became clear that the medical department was one of the main focuses of the Justice Department's investigation into civil rights, health and safety violations at the jail.
In fact, the jail has not paid CMS its monthly $133,000 fee for the last three months, Breit said. The jail did not pay CMS ``because it didn't live up to its contract,'' he added.
Those payments would probably be the basis of CMS' suit, Breit predicted. ``We haven't seen the last of CMS, and they haven't seen the last of us,'' he said.
Norfolk Community Hospital moved into the jail's second and eighth floors on Monday with a team of 25 doctors and nurses, said president Phillip Brooks. The hospital will provide induction screening, physical exams, medical and surgical clinics, a pharmacy lab and 24-hour paramedical coverage.
Brooks said Monday that taking over would be an ``enormous'' task, but said the hospital welcomes the opportunity as an additional revenue source.
The current contract is on a 3-month temporary basis, but Norfolk Community will compete for the new contract when it goes out on public bid, Brooks said.
{KEYWORDS} NORFOLK CITY JAIL MEDICAL PROVIDER
by CNB