Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005 | 8:53 a.m.
North Las Vegas is ready to increase annual spending on inmate health care by 41 percent at its jail, a detention center that fails to meet a national standard and where far less is spent on inmate health care than at other valley jails, officials said.
North Las Vegas Police Chief Mark Paresi is asking the City Council to increase the annual budget for jail medical expenses to $2.18 million. It is currently $1.54 million.
On Wednesday, the council is expected to change its contract with Naphcare Inc. to increase the medical staffing at the jail to 26 people from 17. It would be the first increase since a nurse was added in 2002.
The staffing levels haven't kept pace with the inmate population, city officials said.
The jail, which houses North Las Vegas and federal inmates and the overflow from Clark County, is averaging nearly 900 inmates a day, officials said. In August 2001, the jail was housing only 584 inmates a day.
City officials said the jail is not meeting the minimum qualifications for jail health standards set by the American Jail Association and National Commission on Correctional Health Care.
Medical care at the jail received more attention after the April 17 death of North Las Vegas resident Margie Williams, who died at age 53 her cell about 20 hours after she was jailed, police said at the time.
The Clark County coroner's office ruled Williams died of congestive heart failure.
She had been arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and possession of a crack pipe, police said.
In June an internal study found that the level of medical care being provided to North Las Vegas inmates was "well below" what was being provided at the Clark County Detention Center and Las Vegas Detention Center, North Las Vegas Police spokesman Tim Bedwell said.
"We want to become consistent with the levels established throughout the valley," City Manager Gregory Rose said of the proposed spending increases. "We determined we were below the standards the other jurisdictions have set."
The study found North Las Vegas was spending $5.19 per inmate per day on medical-contract costs compared with $9.46 a day spent by Clark County and $13.70 a day spent by the Las Vegas Detention Center.
Clark County, with 3,100 inmates, has an annual medical budget of $10.5 million, and the Las Vegas Detention Center, with 1,200 inmates, has a budget of $6 million a year, the study said.
Paresi's recommendation would bring North Las Vegas to $7.47 per inmate per day if the jail population is 808, a monthly average from prior months.
Plans call for hiring a nurse practitioner to diagnose patients and prescribe medications without the expense of a doctor. By having the nurse practitioner, the jail will avoid sending some inmates to a doctor for diagnosis and treatment, Bedwell said. That should lessen the likelihood of an inmate escaping from custody, he said.
The number of licensed practical nurses at the jail would be increased from eight to 12 to assist with the management of medically isolated inmates and improve medical screening of inmates when they are booked.
The detention center also plans to add a social worker, a mental health nurse and increase the psychiatrist hours provided by the jail, Bedwell said. Many inmates have mental health problems and alcohol and drug dependencies that require counseling.
The jail also plans to add a medical records clerk and a nurse who will address inmate grievances about medical care. It is common for inmates to complain about not getting medical care, and providing prompt care will help the city avoid lawsuits, he said.
North Las Vegas averages about 16 grievances a month compared with 2 1/2 a month at the Las Vegas Detention Center, the study said.
North Las Vegas reported it settled a federal lawsuit involving an inmate who died in jail in 2000 for $24,000. In that case, Charles Webb, who was being treated for substance abuse at Lake Mead Medical Center prior to his arrest, was found dead in his holding cell, police said.
The medical care funding increase this year will be covered with savings from vacant North Las Vegas Police and detention officer positions, officials said.
In future years, North Las Vegas will be able to cover the additional cost with increased revenue from the jail. The city anticipates an additional $365,000 in annual revenue thanks to an increase in fees it is charging Clark County.
The city now charges $70 a day for housing county inmates, which increased July 1 from $50 a day.
It is negotiating to increase the fees it charges the government to house federal prisoners as well, city spokeswoman Brenda Johnson said.
Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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