Alachua County Commission hears from jail service providers, learns that plumbing pipes at the jail are riddled with holes

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At their August 27 meeting, the Alachua County Commission heard presentations from service providers at the jail and learned that plumbing pipes at the jail are riddled with holes.

“Significant increase” in sick calls after board eliminated $5 fee

During one of several presentations from providers at the jail, the Regional Director of Operations for WellPath said the jail’s healthcare provider has seen “a significant increase in the number of sick call slips triaged,” referring to the paper forms that inmates fill out to let the nurses know they’re requesting a sick call; these slips represent “actual encounters that they’ve had face-to-face with a nurse, mental health encounters, and medication management. So, as you can see, our sick call triage numbers jumped up 34%, our nurse sick call encounters jumped up 38%. We’re attributing most of this to the free sick calls that are now being offered. And while increasing the access to care, this current trend is adding a tremendous amount of strain on our operations.” He said the company plans to “revisit our rates that were originally agreed upon in 2019… [and] propose additional FTEs for our mental health providers and also to be able to address and handle the load of sick calls.”

In April 2023, the Alachua County Commission instructed the Sheriff to eliminate fees for inmate services , including a previous $5 fee for a clinic visit.

Focusing on a 26% increase in mental health encounters, Commissioner Ken Cornell made a motion to accept the presentation and ask WellPath to report back in 90 days “with regards to how we’re addressing the increase in visits.” He added to the motion a request from Commissioner Anna Prizzia to streamline the process of obtaining medical information releases for family members of inmates. Prizzia also added a request to the food provider to return with additional goals for their Good Food Purchasing Program in 90 days.

Food service

In their presentation, Trinity Services Group, the food provider, had given themselves two stars in a self-evaluation of their compliance with the Good Food Purchasing Program; they gave their program credit for using a local supplier, providing a meatless meal plan, elimination of bottled water as an option, paying a living wage, vegan menu options, and compliance with nutrition recommendations.

Eyeglasses and hearing aids

After public comment, Prizzia asked whether the jail provides eyeglasses, and Sheriff Emery Gainey said there would be additional costs associated with that, but they could build eyeglasses and hearing aids into the next contract update.

In response to complaints that jail inmates say they’re always hungry and Trinity’s claim that the menu includes 2,700 calories per day, Chair Mary Alford announced her intention to go to the jail during lunchtime, review the menu, and speak with inmates about their satisfaction with the food. She said, “I know all this is a challenge with short staffing and everything else, but ultimately, our goal is to give our inmates an experience that helps them not want to come back to jail but also prepares them for life in a community in a healthy way, so that when they leave the jail, they are prepared to do the things they need to do to not return. So, like Commissioner Prizzia said, being incarcerated is punishment enough. We don’t need to add to that by not taking care of folks.”

Cornell also asked for data showing how many of the people who are booked into the jail are ultimately found not guilty, and Alford said she also looked forward to getting that data.

The motion passed 4-0 with Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler absent.

Holes in plumbing pipes at the jail

As Alford tried to move on to the next agenda item, Gainey said they’ve found leaks and seepage in the jail’s plumbing systems; he held up a pipe with holes and said, “This is what’s in the walls of the jail, and that’s only one pod, quite frankly, and we’re concerned about others that [have] similar type seepages… So there are some significant maintenance issues that are ongoing at the Department of the Jail,… not only for the inmates, but our staff… So I want to get that on record.”

Alford said she appreciated the information and looked forward to “putting together a team to address and create a strategic plan as to what we need to do to go forward.”

County Manager Michele Lieberman said her team is “in constant communication” with the Sheriff’s Office and is working on a plan. She said, “We are aware of the cost of a new jail, which may be overly difficult, given what the costs are right now out there – I mean, half a billion is kind of the number that’s been floating around. We’ll bring some options, but something shy of that, unfortunately, is probably going to be the more realistic option.”

Alford said she hoped to talk about “the whole jail system” at their upcoming retreat – “everything from recidivism to medical care to all the things.”

Prizzia said she wanted to talk about “how we get our jail population down,… how we can work with the judges and the State Attorney and the Sheriff’s Office to reduce our jail population.”

Gainey responded, “I think all those are absolutely necessary and critical. But obviously, in the meantime, we’ve got to operate a jail, and we have a jail with pipes and drainage that looks like this… We’ve got to address that immediately.” He said a new facility is probably 10 years away, and “this is happening today.”

Alford thanked Gainey for the update, and the board moved on to the next agenda item.

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