Santa Fe County Corrections Director Annabelle Romero shuffles around her office, which is adorned with photos of family and an aerial shot of the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility. Romero looks more the part of librarian than director of a multi-million dollar correctional facility: She is soft-spoken and wears her hair in a bun, and comes across as sincere when she describes her passion for corrections work. Romero started her career at the state penitentiary right after the 1980 riots left 33 inmates dead. She was brought in to monitor the penitentiary’s compliance with the Duran consent decree—a set of care standards imposed on the jail after Dwight Duran, a former inmate, sued over poor standards of living.
For Romero, working at the penitentiary in the wake of one of the country’s most notorious prison riots was instructive.
“I saw firsthand what happens when we take shortcuts,” she says.
When Santa Fe County took over operation of its jail in 2005, Romero was brought in as corrections director. As a nationally recognized corrections expert, she has testified as an expert witness on standards of inmate care in civil cases nationwide.
Today, Romero is one of the main obstacles in the push to privatize inmate medical services at the Santa Fe County jail.
Though conditions at the jail have improved since Romero started there—and the county’s yearly insurance premiums have decreased by about $1 million since its biggest liability adopted better standards of care—the specter of its history still looms.
Between 1998 and 2005, the facility was run by private contractor Management & Training Corp., which subcontracted with Physicians Network Association for inmate medical care.
During that time, 10 cases—including Villanueva’s—cost the county and its contractors millions of dollars in settlement fees. In 2003, Santa Fe County and its private contractors paid out one of the largest civil settlements in US history to the Santa Fe family of Tyson Johnson, another man who died at the facility.
Indeed, medical negligence at SFCADF was so egregious that the facility earned the scrutiny of the US Department of Justice, which conducted multiple investigations into the jail’s practices and ultimately issued an injunction to force the county to maintain basic standards of care.
Romero makes an intuitive point: that the only way to lower costs is to reduce the quality or volume of medical care.
“I actually don’t believe that there’s money to be saved without compromising [care],” Romero says. “I don’t think I’m doing more than what I’m constitutionally required to do right now.”
I find it rather amusing that Ms. Romero says shes trying to keep her hand picked staff when she has driven out several nurses in the past month. These nurses were the most experienced and had been with the medical unit from the beginning. Ms. Romero is trying to save money by simply not providing SFC with the medical supplies necessary to provide proper care. Its also obsurd that SFC Medical is run by a medical administrator with no medical background and not even a degree in any type of management. In the past month there have been so many medical errors by Agency nurses who arent given proper orientation to the facility. It amazes me that Ms. Romero is even trying to retain a county medical staff when she fights them every step of the way to provide quality care...
Santa Fe County, until just recently, had experienced, responsibile nurses who wanted to work at the jail and who were dedicated to not only the inmates' healthcare but also to Santa Fe County. Because of Ms. Romero's institance in changing the work schedules of the experienced nurses she drove them away. She attempted to "fix" something that was not broken. The healthcare offered to inmates for the last 4 years while under the county oversight was head and shoulders above what any outside agency could offer. Sadly, when and if an outside agency is brought in to oversee inmate medical care the Department of Justice will most likely find it necessary to reinvolve themselves and Santa Fe County will suffer because of thier own poor decisions. It will be much more costly to the County in the long run. Sad situation, poor decision making, poor management.
If our state is so hard up for money, why don't we; RELEASE ALL prisoners whose "crimes" involved neither harming another nor harming another's property?
No victim, no crime.
I have worked with the county and left on good terms. The entire operation with the medical unit like the "Good Ol Boys" Club. You are out unless you are a "FOA" Friend of annabelle. The entire staff has to bow down and praise her to keep their jobs. The work that is done there can be done by a private contractor for less money. I say, leave it to the professionals who know what needs to be done. I am sorry, but Ms. Romero may just have to get along managing the county without hand picking people who praise her like a King.