County reclaims jail-and all its problems.
***image1***Less than a week on the job, Santa Fe County Jail Warden Bill Blank already has gotten his first taste of the type of incidents the beleaguered facility has struggled with for years.
At approximately 3 pm, Oct. 14,
24-year-old Carole Gutierrez was brought to the jail's booking area after being picked up by New Mexico State Police for drugs. Less than 12 hours later, she was dead.
Gutierrez was reportedly suffering from heroin withdrawal and due to be transferred to a drug treatment center later that day. According to Sheriff Greg Solano, inmates allege they told medical staff of Gutierrez's condition but got no response.
Comparable incidents were not unusual under the jail's former operator, the Utah-based Management and Training Corporation (MTC). A scathing 2003 report from the US Department of Justice documented a laundry list of problems behind bars. MTC announced it would cease operating the jail in April, citing the mounting costs.
Blank, who grabbed the reins Oct. 11 as part of the county's takeover of the jail, would not comment on Gutierrez' death. He did, however, discuss his upcoming challenges-such as staffing.
According to Solano, a 45 percent turnover rate decimated MTC's staff. Those who remain will be employed by the county. Solano and Blank hope recent 5 percent raises and generous county health benefits will make the job more appealing.
"We need to get a dedicated workforce in there which is properly trained and effective," Blank says. Currently there are 168 guards on duty; he hopes to bump up to 208.
Adequate staffing also is of concern to lawyer Mark Donatelli, who has six inmate lawsuits pending against the county and MTC. "He's got to stop the turnover and find a way to operate the jail in such a way that it not only protects the constitutional rights of the inmates but also provides an efficient service to the courts," Donatelli says.
Lack of adequate health care at the jail also is a top concern.
"Most of the inmates we see have not been to a doctor for at least a year," Solano says. "Many of them have hepatitis, heroin problems and need prescription drugs. It's a huge challenge."
Currently, the jail is staffed by at least two temporary nurses, a medical administrator, a pharmacy technician and two doctors including its new medical director, Dr. Laura Kay. Kay, a former chief medical officer for the Santa Fe Fire Department, hopes to bring on permanent nurses and paramedics to help treat the high rate of drug addiction among inmates and subsequent withdrawal problems.
"I don't ever want a situation like this to happen again," she says, referring to Gutierrez.
Beyond staffing and health care, there is the perpetual issue of managing the jail's $14 million budget.
Ken Kopczynski, director of the Private Corrections Institute, a private prison watchdog group in Florida, has kept an eye on the Santa Fe County Jail for years. He says it's atypical for a municipality to take back a jail from a private contractor because of the cost.
"But if the people of Santa Fe understand the benefits to the takeover and if there's a political will to put money in there to deal with the medical issues, this could work," he says.
Blank, who cut his teeth working at Arizona jails before becoming an administrator at the 4,800-inmate Orange County Correctional Facility in Florida, recognizes the $65,000 a year he'll be pulling in is going to be hard-earned.
"Are we going to make mistakes? Yes. Are we going to be held accountable? Certainly," Blank says. "But we'll also constantly be evaluating and monitoring our operations. And that, ultimately, is going to change this jail."
