Page 67 - 2021_American Jails NovDec

inside correctional health

Medical Surveillance of Inmate Workers

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, inmate workers are Or did you just hand them a roll
sometimes a necessary evil. I still remember of paper towels, a jug of bleach, and a red
when I was told that we don’t call them bio-hazard bag? These are good questions,
“trustees.” Because we can’t “trust” any of and the reason behind the standard discussed
them, right? Yet we do; at least a lot of us do. in today’s Jail Commander Conversation.
We ask them to perform duties in every Forget the scenario I just described.
corner of our facility: kitchens, offices, Instead, open your thought process to every
warehouses, outdoor space and, yes, our duty that inmate workers perform in your
medical areas. Some duties are jobs that you facility. The steps to protect these workers
couldn’t pay anyone else to do. You know the during their normal duties does not stop at
ones I mean. The cell with the just-admitted the soiled and poopy cell. Steps in training
arrestee who is experiencing a mental health and protection should be engrained in all
crisis? The inmate who urinated on the wall, their work assignments and not stop at just
floor, and his bed. Or smeared feces like “training” them on how to do their duties.
he was finger painting the Sistine Chapel? They also must be medically screened for
Someone has to clean that cell! their duties. That is where this standard can
My reward to the inmate workers who help you.
cleaned these messes for me usually included Love ‘em or hate ‘em. For those of you
a quick trip to the local fast-food joint for with inmate worker programs, you need
a super-sized value meal. To the inmate to protect your inmates just as you would
workers, cleaning that cell was worth it. For if they were any other worker out in the
us, we were grateful that this messy job was community. We hope that the following
taken care of! information can help you to develop your
Ask yourself. Did we provide the inmate own medical surveillance inmate worker
worker with the necessary tools to “properly” program.
clean up that mess? I think we did. I hope
we did. In cases, like the one I described JIM MARTIN, MPSA, CCHP
above, it usually included a bio-hazard suit Vice President, Program Development
that sufficiently covered all exposed areas of jamesmartin@ncchc.org
the body, from head to toe. It included eye
protection, gloves, and masks, usually with AMY PANAGOPOULOS, MBA, BSN, RN
a little essential oil drop inside (if you know Vice President, Accreditation
National Commission on Correctional Health Care
what I mean and why!). amyp@ncchc.org
But here is the second question: Did you
train the inmate workers on how to properly
clean up this mess? Did they watch the same
videos on blood-borne pathogens and bodily
waste precautions that the staff did? Did they
receive the proper tools to perform their job?

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