More information is emerging about allegations that a MetroHealth medical supervisor lost his job at the Cuyahoga County Jail after calling out inadequate staffing and safety issues.
Now another former employee with similar concerns is speaking out.
We requested to get into the Cuyahoga County Jail to see medical staffing ourselves, but so far we have not been permitted. The county did send me recent inspection reports that indicate they are in compliance.
Former jail nursing supervisor Gary Brack told our Lynna Lai that he had an ethical obligation to speak out about an nursing shortage at the jail. He claims that it's not uncommon to see only three nurses on the night shift to care for 2.100 inmates.
"We have paraplegics, quadriplegics in the jail. I have no staff to turn these inmates over every couple of hours to prevent bedsores," Brack explained.
Do the math: If you have three nurses to 2100 inmates, that equates to one nurse for 700 inmates..
Marcus Harris is the former director of nursing at the jail. He left this past January for another job in California, but sent a letter to Cuyahoga County Council on May 20th, backing Brack's claims.
Marcus Harris letter to Cuyahoga County Council by WKYC.com on Scribd
You can see our extended interview with Harris below:
But after Brack accused Director of Corrections Ken Mills of mismanagement at a Cuyahoga County Council meeting last week, he was placed on leave.
State records paint another story. This document dated March 15, 2017 is the state jail inspection report.
The report showed that the Cuyahoga County Correction Center is in compliance with 100% of the 'Essential Standards' and at least 90% of the 'Important Standards' meeting the requirements of a "Compliant Jail."
Essential standards is regarding medical care. Important standards refer to overcrowding issues.
Brack and Harris disagree.
"I don't think someone's crime should determine the way they're treated medically," Harris told us.
According to the county, when the state comes in for a jail inspection, the director of nursing is the person who accompanies the inspector, neither the Sheriff or the jail administrator is with them.
The Sheriff meets twice a month with jail and medical leadership staff including MetroHealth employees. We don't know if these concerns were brought up in any of those meetings, but according to the state, the county jail is compliant.