Prison board discusses medical bills
Following the attempted suicide of an inmate in the Fayette County Prison last week, one member of the prison board on Wednesday questioned how much the county pays when an inmate has to be hospitalized. The county’s insurance company, Prime Care, pays the first $2,500 of an inmate’s medical bills if they are sent to a hospital, said Brian Miller, deputy warden.
The remainder of the bill – as long as the inmate is a prisoner – falls on the county. If the inmate is released from the county’s care, however, Miller said the bill falls on the inmate.
Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky said the medical expenses can be “devastating” to the county.
On Friday, an inmate attempted to hang himself in his cell using bed sheets, according to prison officials.
Deputy Warden Barry Croftcheck said employee Ron Dellarose saved that inmate’s life when he found him.
“He was dead,” Croftcheck said. “If it wasn’t for Ron, we’d have had our second hanging in a month.”
The inmate is slated to be released from the hospital, and will be sent to Torrance State Hospital in Westmoreland County, Croftcheck said.
On Sept. 12, Cade W. Stevens, 25, of Dawson hanged himself in his cell at the prison.
There were questions about how often he was supposed to be checked on, and what the guards on duty did or did not do to ensure that he was amply supervised.
A November inquest to look into the facts surrounding Stevens’ death is planned.
Two guards involved in that case, Geary O’Neil and Barry Simon, are both suspended with pay. Board members received completed investigations from county human resources about that case during the meeting, but said they did not have time to go through both and take any action in the hanging case.
“These are very serious matters, and I want to have sufficient time,” Sheriff Gary Brownfield said.
Zapotosky noted that there recently were three pregnant inmates in the prison.
“Recently, with some situations, I’m almost afraid to open the bill,” Zapotosky said, noting that the taxpayers ultimately are the ones who foot the bill.
He noted that people are in jail for violating state laws, and the county is carrying the burden for the expense of keeping inmates.
Dellarose said that the county can renegotiate how much the insurance company pays for inmate hospitalization when the contract is up in December 2010, and noted that amount has been in place for about 10 years.