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Logo Created By VSPW Graphic Arts Program
"Thank You Ladies"
VALLEY STATE PRISON FOR WOMEN
INMATE FAMILY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Friday, June 2, 2006
Warden’s Conference Room
Logo Created By VSPW Graphic Arts Program
"Thank You Ladies"
VALLEY STATE PRISON FOR WOMEN
INMATE FAMILY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Friday, June 2, 2006
Warden’s Conference Room
MEMBERS/ALTERNATES PRESENT
Marvin Coolbaugh, Chair
Nancy Rubinstein, Secretary
Elizabeth M.
Regina T.
William R.
Mark H.
Irma C.
Louisa C.
MEMBERS/ALTERNATES ABSENT
Dr. John Videen, Co-Chair
Alexandria B.
Sherrie G.
Tammy R.
Wanda P.
VISITORS
Carolyn D.
Dwight D.
Pablo H.
STAFF PRESENT
Gloria Henry, Warden
Lt. Frank Sanders, A.A.
Lt. B. McCraw, Visiting/Mail
Dr. D. Martin, HCM (A)
R. Padilla, A.W.
Captain D. Harman, Housing
L. Macvel, R&R
Sgt. D. Kincheloe, Mailroom
L. Arroyo, O.A. (T), Recorder
Marvin Coolbaugh, IFC Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:06 PM. Introductions were made around the room.
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OLD BUSINESS
1) Visiting
a) Lockdowns: Lt. McCraw told us that the recent lockdowns were extremely unusual. The first one came down from the State, and all prisons in the system were locked down, due to the hostage situation at a prison near Sacramento. The second one was due to the flu outbreak, which affected 400 VSPW inmates. Emergencies requiring lockdowns are extremely rare at women’s prisons, and it isn’t expected that this will happen again soon. Lt. McCraw voiced his concern about families who had come a long way, only to be turned away. He said that inmates were supposed to have been able to call home during the lockdowns, and it was hoped that inmates who knew they had family coming to visit were able to reach them before they came all the way to Chowchilla. VSPW knew they were going to be locked down on Friday evening.
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b) Visiting Hotline: There is a toll-free number for families to call to get visiting information on nights and weekends. This number has a selection menu, and visitors can select information about a particular prison. The Visiting Hotline also has information about allowable clothing, days and hours for visiting, requirements for children, and several other important pieces of information. It even has information about general medical questions. The number is: 1-800-374-8474. Lt. McCraw said that if there was any problem, or a question that wasn’t answered by the toll-free number, to call VSPW and talk to the Visiting staff. Their number is 559-665-6100, extension 5708. There may occasionally be problems with the toll-free number, and, unfortunately, that was the case during the flu epidemic. The state has fixed this problem, and it shouldn’t occur again.
c) Visiting Processing: Visiting processing has been going much more smoothly since the staff started using the pre-processing table in the front of the room. The staff will be asking for a reduced amount of jewelry, to be announced in Visiting Processing this coming weekend.
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2) IFC Educational Facility Tour
Due to a coordination problem with applications from IFC members, the Educational Facility Tour that was to have taken place today is postponed until our October meeting. Nancy Rubinstein will be coordinating the paperwork for this tour, to make sure everyone gets his or her documentation in and accepted ahead of time. She will be notifying people shortly.
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NEW BUSINESS
1) Medical
a) Prescription renewal and refill problems: The prescription renewal and refill problems are the same problems that have been happening for the last year, but they are worse right now. The main problems stem from overcrowding in the system, as well as a backlog that occurred due to staff changes and computer implementation problems. There have been problems with the computer prescription refill system (VISTA), and it wasn’t installed and working last year, so that slowed things down. There was also a problem getting patients out to doctors, due to billing problems. The state has caught up on its bills now, so this is no longer a problem, except for a backlog of patients who need to be seen.
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b) Co-pay problems: Since the Medical staff got behind, inmates have had problems being seen in a timely manner. When this happens, lots of inmates tend to put in multiple co-pays for the same problem. This doesn’t get them in any faster. In fact, the way co-pays work, it slows everything down. The co-pay system is bogged down. Each co-pay request has to be reviewed, logged and filed, and it takes the same amount of time, each time, even if the request is for the exact same problem. The staff has seen as many as 3,000 co-pays in a single day, which means there is no way to completely handle all of them. There isn’t enough staff, even though VSPW is currently fully staffed, with a new physician/surgeon on the staff (Dr. Burk). Since a lot of these co-pays are duplicates, it means that a lot of time is wasted taking care of them. The hang-up point is at the data-entry step. Each co-pay is reviewed by the RN, to determine if it is an emergency (seen the same day), or urgent (seen within 24 hours), routine (which is scheduled over time). Then the co-pay has to be logged, and then it has to be sent to the Accounting Department for a trust fund disbursement.
The ideal is to see an inmate who has submitted a co-pay within 24 hours, but the system is so bogged down right now, this isn’t even close to happening. The medical staff has a meeting coming up on June 6th, where they will be trying to figure out a way to speed things up.
Dwight D. suggested that perhaps inmates with clerical skills could be enlisted to help write co-pays for semi-literate inmates. Warden Henry told us there are legal liability issues and sanction threats that prevent them from using inmates to write co-pays, even though there are many skilled and trained inmates. There are lots of inmates that do help others write co-pays and 602s, but this is an informal system, and there is no way that the prison can specify this as a ‘job assignment’. Warden Henry and Dr. Martin agreed that inmates need better information on the co-pay system, and that getting the information in Reception isn’t very helpful. Ongoing education of inmates is needed.
An IFC member wondered if the co-pay could include a simple check-off list to facilitate diagnosis, prioritization and review of symptoms. Dr. Martin explained that the Board of Nursing has a set of “Nursing Protocols” which require certain types of information in the inmate medical file and on the co-pays. The Nursing Board is very specific about the forms, information required, and the protocols. These forms, etc., can’t be changed at the local level. Initially, the nursing protocols require that medical forms be filled out at Receiving. Every inmate goes through a thorough medical intake procedure during Receiving, and this information is in the inmate’s charts. These charts are available to the nursing staff, and are used during treatment, as required. The nursing protocols are reviewed constantly, and were just reviewed this last year. The systems are always being improved and medical changes are occurring daily.
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c) Medical Staffing & Seeing a Doctor: All current MTA and RN positions are now filled, and there is a new Physician/Surgeon hired – Dr. Burk. The staff is backlogged on co-pays, and this is an ongoing problem. Since they have to take the co-pays in order, some yards are more behind than others. There are still some minor staffing problems caused by staff absences and vacations, high-volume Reception overloads, and emergencies, but the administration is allowed to call in backup contract physicians in the area during emergencies.
An inmate may not always be seen by a doctor. The nursing protocols include a list of problems that can be handled by non-doctor staff (such as RNs or MTAs). Seeing a nurse doesn’t mean that an inmate is automatically going to see a doctor. Some inmates don’t know this, and it may be confusing. This is another reason that inmates need more information about the medical and co-pay procedures.
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d) Indigent Co-pays: When a co-pay gets processed and sent forward to Accounting, there is a $5.00 charge for inmates with funds on their trust accounts. Indigent inmates are not charged at all, but are still seen.
e) WRITING CO-PAYS; Listing Symptoms on Co-pays: An inmate is supposed to list her symptoms on a co-pay. A bad headache may not be something that an RN would consider Urgent or Emergency. An inmate would have to give more information, if the headache could be considered more serious. For instance, if the symptoms included blurry vision or dizziness, that would indicate a problem that is more serious. As inmates become familiar with medical staff (for instance, chronic care patients), then co-pays are more easily sorted. It is important for the patient to be as specific as possible about her symptoms on the co-pay form.
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f) Outpatient Housing Unit Medical Visit Wait Times: How long is the wait time after ducating? Some inmates have reported to the Outpatient Housing Unit and had to wait up to 5½ hours before being seen.
Dr. Martin explained that the medical visits that take place at the Outpatient Unit are just like a regular doctor’s office visit. 36 inmates are ducated at a time, and they report to the OHU, and wait to be seen. We saw the little cement rooms where patients wait, with the cement benches and the toilets, during our tour of the Medical Facility. The Medical staff reports to work during weekdays at 7:00 a.m., 7:30 a.m., and 8:00 a.m. Ducats go out in batches of 36, usually about 8:00 a.m. for the first ones. As the patients arrive, they are placed in the waiting cells. Their names are on a list, and they are called by the medical assistant in order. However, emergencies are brought in and seen immediately, so the patient ducated for regular visits may have to wait longer sometimes. The OHU is also an Emergency Room, and emergencies take priority. As the inmate population expands, there are more and more emergencies. Chest pains, bleeding, imminent birth and several other things are going to get treated before regular appointments are seen.
Dr. Martin said that they’d like to start having medical appointments in the evenings and on weekends, but it’s hard to find staff that will accept non-standard hours. They have had a couple of medical staff people recently that have expressed an interest in doing this, and it might help with the wait times.
g) Meds Wait Line: The Meds Wait Line is open after work. It doesn’t interfere with phone times or meals (if the inmate signs up for a phone time that isn’t during Meds Wait Line time). Phone calls can be scheduled during non-meds times. The Meds Wait Line doesn’t require a ducat.
h) Pharmacy Computer Tracking System: The VISTA pharmacy tracking system was never ready to use, and it didn’t work right. Recently, however, there have been some computer people sent down from Sacramento to get it working, so they might be able to get it working within the next 6 months to a year.
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i) Recent Flu Epidemic: The recent flu epidemic that hit the California prison system was first noticed at DVI on a Tuesday. VSPW had been called by Dwight Wenslow, the State Medical Officer, on Wednesday. By mid-day Friday, VSPW noted the first symptoms, and alerted the state. By Friday evening, VSPW was on lockdown, and nurses went through all units, identifying people with symptoms. Over a period of four days, starting on Friday and continuing through the following Monday, 456 cases were identified and reported to CDCR.
Preparations included, but were not limited to the following: Nurses went through every unit, milk was closed down, electrolytic fluids, Gatorade, bottled water and crackers were stockpiled to help inmates with nausea and potential dehydration, outside medical people (from Madera, from CCWF, and all contract personnel) were notified and arrangements were made for extended medical coverage, extra linens were prepared for distribution, extra gloves, masks and linens were stored.
j) Planning for future epidemics: VSPW medical staff are involved in ongoing plans for potential epidemics in the future. Local VSPW plans are further along than the statewide ones, especially since this last flu epidemic hit VSPW. VSPW Public Health Nurse Randy Griggs has been to several large-scale epidemic training sessions. The recent flu experience also allowed VSPW to become better prepared in case of a large-scale emergency.
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k) “Advanced Directives”: An Advanced Directive is a written document that tells medical people what to do in case a patient is unable to make his or her own decisions. The Advanced Directive can tell doctors what kind of care a patient wants, even if he or she is unconscious. It can tell the doctor if the patient wants to be kept alive indefinitely, and other information. It can also give a trusted person or a loved one the power to make certain decisions about care. If an inmate would like a family member to be named on an Advanced Directive, then she will need to fill one out. When an inmate goes out to surgery, she is supposed to be told about the Advanced Directive, and have a chance to fill out the paper. It is okay to have an Advanced Directive in the inmate file. An inmate can ask to have one put in her file. An inmate may also ask that this Advanced Directive go with her to the hospital. Advanced Directives should be renewed on a regular basis, in case things change. An inmate may want to have a different family member named, or other things can change.
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2) Vendors
a) Mosquito Repellant: VSPW has asked that mosquito repellant be allowed in quarterly packages, by exemption. This request is in process.
b) Sunscreen: Sunscreen has been added to the exemption request list, too. It is currently available for workers who have outside assignments.
c) New State Approved Vendor List: The new State Approved Vendor List is ready, and will go out to the general population on Monday, June 5th. The catalogues are not ready yet, and have not yet been approved by CDCR, so there aren’t any catalogues yet. The vendors need to send the brochures, forms and catalogues. They need to be approved. Once these things have happened, inmates will be able to use them after July 1st. Only approved items on the property matrix will be allowed.
d) Special Purchases: Special Purchases will now be restricted to the Approved Vendor list. JC Penney and some of the other Special Purchase vendors that were used before are no longer approved.
e) Vendor Catalogues in Visiting?: Nancy Rubinstein has heard that the DOM allows vendor catalogues to be available in the Visiting Rooms, so inmates and family members can discuss purchase items during Visiting. Warden Henry said that the IFC should find the DOM reference and send it in for consideration.
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3) JPay Trust Fund Accounting: JPay is a company that has just signed a contract with the state and CDCR which allows family members to place money on their loved ones’ trust fund accounts via the internet or on the phone. It takes a credit card or a debit card to do this, although there are some cash pay stations in California, too. A family member can place money on their inmate loved ones’ account without having to purchase a money order and send it in the regular mail. The money goes into the trust fund account in as little as 24 hours, and an inmate confirmation notice goes from the Accounting Department to the inmate with a few days. It costs $2.99 for a family member to use this service. Marvin Coolbaugh has used it, and he said it worked great.
The WAC has been told about JPay, and is getting the word out to the inmates. Nancy Rubinstein will post the information on the WWW.VSPW-IFC.COM website next week, so people can go on-line and get the information, including where the cash pay stations are located.
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4) Mailroom
a) Mail is currently 5 days behind: Sgt. Kincheloe said that first class mail is currently 5 days behind, due to the Memorial Day weekend, staffing shortages, and volume. Money Orders are approximately 4 days behind. The Mailroom can process approximately 200 Money Orders in a day.
Letters coming out of the prison are getting out within a couple of days to the recipients.
An IFC member reported that they sent in a card on May 18th, and as of May 31st, their daughter had still not received it. This would indicate that mail is as much as 7 to 8 working days behind. Sgt. Kincheloe explained that they don’t always get mail promptly from the US Post Office, and that this is out of their control. Additionally, the Post Office tends to collect items and send them in all at once, particularly with bulk items, which explains why some inmates may get several days worth of newspapers all at once, etc. Also, bomb threats and lockdowns tend to slow down the incoming mail received on the units.
The Warden tries to authorize some extra overtime when the mail gets backed up. Sometimes when 10 to 15 trays come in all at once, things get backed up. There is no extra funding for this, so it is difficult to keep the Mailroom fully staffed at all times, especially when staff has days off or vacations.
The Mailroom staff tries to anticipate when mail will increase, like on Mother’s Day. Before Mother’s Day this year, the Mailroom staff tried to pull out things that looked like Mother’s Day cards right away, for special handling.
There will be some extra overtime in the coming week, and the Mailroom is targeting First Class mail, Bulk Mail, and mail that has no housing number on it, to get caught up.
When people call in to the Mailroom, they are usually looking for a specific item. It takes a lot of time to search for these things, and it adds to the workload. It is difficult to find a single item.
Sgt. Kincheloe encouraged the IFC members to request a tour of the Mailroom, as we have many new people on the Board, and it would help them understand the Mailroom process better. Nancy Rubinstein said that she would request that this be added to the October Educational Department tour.
Warden Henry pointed out that the main problems with mail have to do with staff shortages (due to fund shortages) and the overcrowding problem, which means there is more mail, for more inmates, than the staff can efficiently handle. She said that the prison is very aware of this problem, and is really trying to do everything they can to keep the mail on time. It will always be a little slower than at home, because it has to be processed in a prison. There will always be a problem with slow mail at the prison, but they will continue to try and anticipate problems and make adjustments to keep up as best they can. She explained that the Mailroom is part of Captain Harman’s tour, and she double-checks the mailroom on a regular basis.
b) Preparations for Christmas Mail: During Christmas, the mailroom gets an average of 23 trays a day from the post office, compared to 28 trays for the whole week that just passed. There is a new employee that has been hired for the Mailroom, and she will start on June 19th, and be co-trained to help with Money Orders, too. It is hoped that more people will start using JPay, and this will make the Money Order volume go down, and make things quicker at the Mailroom. There is also going to be a second new computer in the Mailroom shortly, and the Systems Manager is working to get it up and running soon. This will double the amount of computers available to work on mailroom accounting, etc. This should speed things up.
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OTHER DISCUSSION
1) New Property Rules: Warden Henry reported that no positive news has occurred on the request for exemptions for women prisoners, and that the property matrix as written for all California prisons will be going into effect for VSPW as of July 1st. This means that all personal clothing must be either, a) mailed home, b) donated, or c) destroyed.
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2) Parolee Clothing Closet: The Long-Termers Organization is working with the “Women Helping Other Women” (WHOW) in Fresno to handle some of the donations, and make sure they go to women who need donations. The WHOW is a parolee group that works through a parole officer in Fresno to help other parolees. This includes a parole clothing closet, which they are working on establishing at VSPW. This would allow parolees to select clothing that suits them better than what is currently available. Right now, if the parolee doesn’t receive a set of clothing from home or from a church organization (such as the Catholic Archdioceses), she must parole in a muumuu, which she must pay for. WHOW is one of the organizations that is willing to contribute to a clothes closet at the prison.
3) Friends Outside: Will the Friends Outside state contract be renewed? Yes, they are going to be finalizing the contract shortly, and Friends Outside will remain available to help families. Friends Outside also has expressed an interest in getting involved in Visiting Room Children’s Facilities, and might be willing to partner with the IFC and the Visiting Lt. to get some furniture, books and toys for the Visiting Rooms. Nancy Rubinstein will check on this.
4) Warden Henry Retiring: This is Warden Henry’s last IFC meeting. Her retirement date is June 30th. Everyone expressed his or her appreciation of her good work.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:54 p.m.
Next Meeting: Friday, August 4, 2006
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, membership meeting
1:00 PM – IFC/Staff Meeting
Minutes prepared by Nancy Rubinstein
Agenda Items for next meeting due by July 17, 2006
Marvin Coolbaugh, Chair
Nancy Rubinstein, Secretary
Elizabeth M.
Regina T.
William R.
Mark H.
Irma C.
Louisa C.
MEMBERS/ALTERNATES ABSENT
Dr. John Videen, Co-Chair
Alexandria B.
Sherrie G.
Tammy R.
Wanda P.
VISITORS
Carolyn D.
Dwight D.
Pablo H.
STAFF PRESENT
Gloria Henry, Warden
Lt. Frank Sanders, A.A.
Lt. B. McCraw, Visiting/Mail
Dr. D. Martin, HCM (A)
R. Padilla, A.W.
Captain D. Harman, Housing
L. Macvel, R&R
Sgt. D. Kincheloe, Mailroom
L. Arroyo, O.A. (T), Recorder
Marvin Coolbaugh, IFC Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:06 PM. Introductions were made around the room.
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OLD BUSINESS
1) Visiting
a) Lockdowns: Lt. McCraw told us that the recent lockdowns were extremely unusual. The first one came down from the State, and all prisons in the system were locked down, due to the hostage situation at a prison near Sacramento. The second one was due to the flu outbreak, which affected 400 VSPW inmates. Emergencies requiring lockdowns are extremely rare at women’s prisons, and it isn’t expected that this will happen again soon. Lt. McCraw voiced his concern about families who had come a long way, only to be turned away. He said that inmates were supposed to have been able to call home during the lockdowns, and it was hoped that inmates who knew they had family coming to visit were able to reach them before they came all the way to Chowchilla. VSPW knew they were going to be locked down on Friday evening.
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b) Visiting Hotline: There is a toll-free number for families to call to get visiting information on nights and weekends. This number has a selection menu, and visitors can select information about a particular prison. The Visiting Hotline also has information about allowable clothing, days and hours for visiting, requirements for children, and several other important pieces of information. It even has information about general medical questions. The number is: 1-800-374-8474. Lt. McCraw said that if there was any problem, or a question that wasn’t answered by the toll-free number, to call VSPW and talk to the Visiting staff. Their number is 559-665-6100, extension 5708. There may occasionally be problems with the toll-free number, and, unfortunately, that was the case during the flu epidemic. The state has fixed this problem, and it shouldn’t occur again.
c) Visiting Processing: Visiting processing has been going much more smoothly since the staff started using the pre-processing table in the front of the room. The staff will be asking for a reduced amount of jewelry, to be announced in Visiting Processing this coming weekend.
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2) IFC Educational Facility Tour
Due to a coordination problem with applications from IFC members, the Educational Facility Tour that was to have taken place today is postponed until our October meeting. Nancy Rubinstein will be coordinating the paperwork for this tour, to make sure everyone gets his or her documentation in and accepted ahead of time. She will be notifying people shortly.
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NEW BUSINESS
1) Medical
a) Prescription renewal and refill problems: The prescription renewal and refill problems are the same problems that have been happening for the last year, but they are worse right now. The main problems stem from overcrowding in the system, as well as a backlog that occurred due to staff changes and computer implementation problems. There have been problems with the computer prescription refill system (VISTA), and it wasn’t installed and working last year, so that slowed things down. There was also a problem getting patients out to doctors, due to billing problems. The state has caught up on its bills now, so this is no longer a problem, except for a backlog of patients who need to be seen.
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b) Co-pay problems: Since the Medical staff got behind, inmates have had problems being seen in a timely manner. When this happens, lots of inmates tend to put in multiple co-pays for the same problem. This doesn’t get them in any faster. In fact, the way co-pays work, it slows everything down. The co-pay system is bogged down. Each co-pay request has to be reviewed, logged and filed, and it takes the same amount of time, each time, even if the request is for the exact same problem. The staff has seen as many as 3,000 co-pays in a single day, which means there is no way to completely handle all of them. There isn’t enough staff, even though VSPW is currently fully staffed, with a new physician/surgeon on the staff (Dr. Burk). Since a lot of these co-pays are duplicates, it means that a lot of time is wasted taking care of them. The hang-up point is at the data-entry step. Each co-pay is reviewed by the RN, to determine if it is an emergency (seen the same day), or urgent (seen within 24 hours), routine (which is scheduled over time). Then the co-pay has to be logged, and then it has to be sent to the Accounting Department for a trust fund disbursement.
The ideal is to see an inmate who has submitted a co-pay within 24 hours, but the system is so bogged down right now, this isn’t even close to happening. The medical staff has a meeting coming up on June 6th, where they will be trying to figure out a way to speed things up.
Dwight D. suggested that perhaps inmates with clerical skills could be enlisted to help write co-pays for semi-literate inmates. Warden Henry told us there are legal liability issues and sanction threats that prevent them from using inmates to write co-pays, even though there are many skilled and trained inmates. There are lots of inmates that do help others write co-pays and 602s, but this is an informal system, and there is no way that the prison can specify this as a ‘job assignment’. Warden Henry and Dr. Martin agreed that inmates need better information on the co-pay system, and that getting the information in Reception isn’t very helpful. Ongoing education of inmates is needed.
An IFC member wondered if the co-pay could include a simple check-off list to facilitate diagnosis, prioritization and review of symptoms. Dr. Martin explained that the Board of Nursing has a set of “Nursing Protocols” which require certain types of information in the inmate medical file and on the co-pays. The Nursing Board is very specific about the forms, information required, and the protocols. These forms, etc., can’t be changed at the local level. Initially, the nursing protocols require that medical forms be filled out at Receiving. Every inmate goes through a thorough medical intake procedure during Receiving, and this information is in the inmate’s charts. These charts are available to the nursing staff, and are used during treatment, as required. The nursing protocols are reviewed constantly, and were just reviewed this last year. The systems are always being improved and medical changes are occurring daily.
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c) Medical Staffing & Seeing a Doctor: All current MTA and RN positions are now filled, and there is a new Physician/Surgeon hired – Dr. Burk. The staff is backlogged on co-pays, and this is an ongoing problem. Since they have to take the co-pays in order, some yards are more behind than others. There are still some minor staffing problems caused by staff absences and vacations, high-volume Reception overloads, and emergencies, but the administration is allowed to call in backup contract physicians in the area during emergencies.
An inmate may not always be seen by a doctor. The nursing protocols include a list of problems that can be handled by non-doctor staff (such as RNs or MTAs). Seeing a nurse doesn’t mean that an inmate is automatically going to see a doctor. Some inmates don’t know this, and it may be confusing. This is another reason that inmates need more information about the medical and co-pay procedures.
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d) Indigent Co-pays: When a co-pay gets processed and sent forward to Accounting, there is a $5.00 charge for inmates with funds on their trust accounts. Indigent inmates are not charged at all, but are still seen.
e) WRITING CO-PAYS; Listing Symptoms on Co-pays: An inmate is supposed to list her symptoms on a co-pay. A bad headache may not be something that an RN would consider Urgent or Emergency. An inmate would have to give more information, if the headache could be considered more serious. For instance, if the symptoms included blurry vision or dizziness, that would indicate a problem that is more serious. As inmates become familiar with medical staff (for instance, chronic care patients), then co-pays are more easily sorted. It is important for the patient to be as specific as possible about her symptoms on the co-pay form.
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f) Outpatient Housing Unit Medical Visit Wait Times: How long is the wait time after ducating? Some inmates have reported to the Outpatient Housing Unit and had to wait up to 5½ hours before being seen.
Dr. Martin explained that the medical visits that take place at the Outpatient Unit are just like a regular doctor’s office visit. 36 inmates are ducated at a time, and they report to the OHU, and wait to be seen. We saw the little cement rooms where patients wait, with the cement benches and the toilets, during our tour of the Medical Facility. The Medical staff reports to work during weekdays at 7:00 a.m., 7:30 a.m., and 8:00 a.m. Ducats go out in batches of 36, usually about 8:00 a.m. for the first ones. As the patients arrive, they are placed in the waiting cells. Their names are on a list, and they are called by the medical assistant in order. However, emergencies are brought in and seen immediately, so the patient ducated for regular visits may have to wait longer sometimes. The OHU is also an Emergency Room, and emergencies take priority. As the inmate population expands, there are more and more emergencies. Chest pains, bleeding, imminent birth and several other things are going to get treated before regular appointments are seen.
Dr. Martin said that they’d like to start having medical appointments in the evenings and on weekends, but it’s hard to find staff that will accept non-standard hours. They have had a couple of medical staff people recently that have expressed an interest in doing this, and it might help with the wait times.
g) Meds Wait Line: The Meds Wait Line is open after work. It doesn’t interfere with phone times or meals (if the inmate signs up for a phone time that isn’t during Meds Wait Line time). Phone calls can be scheduled during non-meds times. The Meds Wait Line doesn’t require a ducat.
h) Pharmacy Computer Tracking System: The VISTA pharmacy tracking system was never ready to use, and it didn’t work right. Recently, however, there have been some computer people sent down from Sacramento to get it working, so they might be able to get it working within the next 6 months to a year.
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i) Recent Flu Epidemic: The recent flu epidemic that hit the California prison system was first noticed at DVI on a Tuesday. VSPW had been called by Dwight Wenslow, the State Medical Officer, on Wednesday. By mid-day Friday, VSPW noted the first symptoms, and alerted the state. By Friday evening, VSPW was on lockdown, and nurses went through all units, identifying people with symptoms. Over a period of four days, starting on Friday and continuing through the following Monday, 456 cases were identified and reported to CDCR.
Preparations included, but were not limited to the following: Nurses went through every unit, milk was closed down, electrolytic fluids, Gatorade, bottled water and crackers were stockpiled to help inmates with nausea and potential dehydration, outside medical people (from Madera, from CCWF, and all contract personnel) were notified and arrangements were made for extended medical coverage, extra linens were prepared for distribution, extra gloves, masks and linens were stored.
j) Planning for future epidemics: VSPW medical staff are involved in ongoing plans for potential epidemics in the future. Local VSPW plans are further along than the statewide ones, especially since this last flu epidemic hit VSPW. VSPW Public Health Nurse Randy Griggs has been to several large-scale epidemic training sessions. The recent flu experience also allowed VSPW to become better prepared in case of a large-scale emergency.
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k) “Advanced Directives”: An Advanced Directive is a written document that tells medical people what to do in case a patient is unable to make his or her own decisions. The Advanced Directive can tell doctors what kind of care a patient wants, even if he or she is unconscious. It can tell the doctor if the patient wants to be kept alive indefinitely, and other information. It can also give a trusted person or a loved one the power to make certain decisions about care. If an inmate would like a family member to be named on an Advanced Directive, then she will need to fill one out. When an inmate goes out to surgery, she is supposed to be told about the Advanced Directive, and have a chance to fill out the paper. It is okay to have an Advanced Directive in the inmate file. An inmate can ask to have one put in her file. An inmate may also ask that this Advanced Directive go with her to the hospital. Advanced Directives should be renewed on a regular basis, in case things change. An inmate may want to have a different family member named, or other things can change.
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2) Vendors
a) Mosquito Repellant: VSPW has asked that mosquito repellant be allowed in quarterly packages, by exemption. This request is in process.
b) Sunscreen: Sunscreen has been added to the exemption request list, too. It is currently available for workers who have outside assignments.
c) New State Approved Vendor List: The new State Approved Vendor List is ready, and will go out to the general population on Monday, June 5th. The catalogues are not ready yet, and have not yet been approved by CDCR, so there aren’t any catalogues yet. The vendors need to send the brochures, forms and catalogues. They need to be approved. Once these things have happened, inmates will be able to use them after July 1st. Only approved items on the property matrix will be allowed.
d) Special Purchases: Special Purchases will now be restricted to the Approved Vendor list. JC Penney and some of the other Special Purchase vendors that were used before are no longer approved.
e) Vendor Catalogues in Visiting?: Nancy Rubinstein has heard that the DOM allows vendor catalogues to be available in the Visiting Rooms, so inmates and family members can discuss purchase items during Visiting. Warden Henry said that the IFC should find the DOM reference and send it in for consideration.
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3) JPay Trust Fund Accounting: JPay is a company that has just signed a contract with the state and CDCR which allows family members to place money on their loved ones’ trust fund accounts via the internet or on the phone. It takes a credit card or a debit card to do this, although there are some cash pay stations in California, too. A family member can place money on their inmate loved ones’ account without having to purchase a money order and send it in the regular mail. The money goes into the trust fund account in as little as 24 hours, and an inmate confirmation notice goes from the Accounting Department to the inmate with a few days. It costs $2.99 for a family member to use this service. Marvin Coolbaugh has used it, and he said it worked great.
The WAC has been told about JPay, and is getting the word out to the inmates. Nancy Rubinstein will post the information on the WWW.VSPW-IFC.COM website next week, so people can go on-line and get the information, including where the cash pay stations are located.
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4) Mailroom
a) Mail is currently 5 days behind: Sgt. Kincheloe said that first class mail is currently 5 days behind, due to the Memorial Day weekend, staffing shortages, and volume. Money Orders are approximately 4 days behind. The Mailroom can process approximately 200 Money Orders in a day.
Letters coming out of the prison are getting out within a couple of days to the recipients.
An IFC member reported that they sent in a card on May 18th, and as of May 31st, their daughter had still not received it. This would indicate that mail is as much as 7 to 8 working days behind. Sgt. Kincheloe explained that they don’t always get mail promptly from the US Post Office, and that this is out of their control. Additionally, the Post Office tends to collect items and send them in all at once, particularly with bulk items, which explains why some inmates may get several days worth of newspapers all at once, etc. Also, bomb threats and lockdowns tend to slow down the incoming mail received on the units.
The Warden tries to authorize some extra overtime when the mail gets backed up. Sometimes when 10 to 15 trays come in all at once, things get backed up. There is no extra funding for this, so it is difficult to keep the Mailroom fully staffed at all times, especially when staff has days off or vacations.
The Mailroom staff tries to anticipate when mail will increase, like on Mother’s Day. Before Mother’s Day this year, the Mailroom staff tried to pull out things that looked like Mother’s Day cards right away, for special handling.
There will be some extra overtime in the coming week, and the Mailroom is targeting First Class mail, Bulk Mail, and mail that has no housing number on it, to get caught up.
When people call in to the Mailroom, they are usually looking for a specific item. It takes a lot of time to search for these things, and it adds to the workload. It is difficult to find a single item.
Sgt. Kincheloe encouraged the IFC members to request a tour of the Mailroom, as we have many new people on the Board, and it would help them understand the Mailroom process better. Nancy Rubinstein said that she would request that this be added to the October Educational Department tour.
Warden Henry pointed out that the main problems with mail have to do with staff shortages (due to fund shortages) and the overcrowding problem, which means there is more mail, for more inmates, than the staff can efficiently handle. She said that the prison is very aware of this problem, and is really trying to do everything they can to keep the mail on time. It will always be a little slower than at home, because it has to be processed in a prison. There will always be a problem with slow mail at the prison, but they will continue to try and anticipate problems and make adjustments to keep up as best they can. She explained that the Mailroom is part of Captain Harman’s tour, and she double-checks the mailroom on a regular basis.
b) Preparations for Christmas Mail: During Christmas, the mailroom gets an average of 23 trays a day from the post office, compared to 28 trays for the whole week that just passed. There is a new employee that has been hired for the Mailroom, and she will start on June 19th, and be co-trained to help with Money Orders, too. It is hoped that more people will start using JPay, and this will make the Money Order volume go down, and make things quicker at the Mailroom. There is also going to be a second new computer in the Mailroom shortly, and the Systems Manager is working to get it up and running soon. This will double the amount of computers available to work on mailroom accounting, etc. This should speed things up.
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OTHER DISCUSSION
1) New Property Rules: Warden Henry reported that no positive news has occurred on the request for exemptions for women prisoners, and that the property matrix as written for all California prisons will be going into effect for VSPW as of July 1st. This means that all personal clothing must be either, a) mailed home, b) donated, or c) destroyed.
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2) Parolee Clothing Closet: The Long-Termers Organization is working with the “Women Helping Other Women” (WHOW) in Fresno to handle some of the donations, and make sure they go to women who need donations. The WHOW is a parolee group that works through a parole officer in Fresno to help other parolees. This includes a parole clothing closet, which they are working on establishing at VSPW. This would allow parolees to select clothing that suits them better than what is currently available. Right now, if the parolee doesn’t receive a set of clothing from home or from a church organization (such as the Catholic Archdioceses), she must parole in a muumuu, which she must pay for. WHOW is one of the organizations that is willing to contribute to a clothes closet at the prison.
3) Friends Outside: Will the Friends Outside state contract be renewed? Yes, they are going to be finalizing the contract shortly, and Friends Outside will remain available to help families. Friends Outside also has expressed an interest in getting involved in Visiting Room Children’s Facilities, and might be willing to partner with the IFC and the Visiting Lt. to get some furniture, books and toys for the Visiting Rooms. Nancy Rubinstein will check on this.
4) Warden Henry Retiring: This is Warden Henry’s last IFC meeting. Her retirement date is June 30th. Everyone expressed his or her appreciation of her good work.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:54 p.m.
Next Meeting: Friday, August 4, 2006
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, membership meeting
1:00 PM – IFC/Staff Meeting
Minutes prepared by Nancy Rubinstein
Agenda Items for next meeting due by July 17, 2006
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