By Evan Belanger
The Decatur Daily, Ala.
An expert witness testified in federal court Wednesday that psychiatric care provided at the Morgan County Jail was “inadequate,” as attorneys argued whether court orders governing the treatment of inmates at the jail should be preserved.
Dr. Kelly Coffman, a psychiatrist and professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, took the stand for the Southern Center for Human Rights.
Based on a review of jail records and interviews with current and former inmates, she said jail policies did not ensure adequate care for inmates and, in some cases, could endanger them.
“The worst that can happen is that they kill themselves or someone else,” she said.
Coffman said inmates had to wait too long to see a psychiatrist after booking, in some cases several months, and that the psychiatrist was not spending enough time with each inmate even when they were seen.
She said Dr. Shankar Yalamanchile, who provides psychiatric care under contract with the jail’s contracted health provider, Quality Correction Health Care, spent just 6.3 minutes with each patient he saw at the jail in August.
“No one can conduct a psychiatric evaluation in 6.3 minutes. I’m not sure how that is possible,” Coffman said.
In some cases, Coffman said jail policies that prohibit the prescribing of any medications for inmates who had positive drug screens for a period of 30 days or the prescribing of certain commonly abused prescriptions could cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms or worsen psychiatric problems. That decision should be made by a psychiatrist on a case-by-case basis, she said.
Coffman also said inmates who are identified as having psychiatric problems during intake are not automatically flagged for psychiatric treatment.
Instead, they must request an appointment, she said, and pay a $3 copay so they can see a psychiatric nurse. The nurse, who cannot prescribe medication, puts them on a waiting list to see the psychiatrist, she said.
“They were told to be patient and that the waiting list was long,” she said.
Attorneys for the Southern Center also called to the stand a former inmate, Kenneth Crowder, who testified it took two months for him to receive medication for a mental health disorder and that he eventually threatened to hit a jailer with a broomstick so he could see the psychiatrist.
“I said I have bipolar schizophrenia and I just want my medicine,” he said.
On cross examination, Coffman said she did not speak with Quality Correction Health Care medical staff when preparing her assessment and that she was not aware of anything in the medical records she reviewed that could have resulted in a claim for medical malpractice.
Barney Lovelace, attorney for the county and Sheriff’s Office, said they offered for Coffman to speak with medical staff.
Yalamanchile, who has been under contract to provide psychiatric care at the jail since July 28, testified there was no co-pay to see the psychiatric nurse or the psychiatrist and that if there was a significant wait list before he started, he thought it had been resolved.
He also testified that care provided at the Morgan County Jail is better and faster than what the inmates would likely get in the community.
“I just can’t see a similar patient in an outside setting is going to get anywhere close to this kind of care,” he said.
He said he visits the jail at least once a week, but he was not certain who made the list of patients he sees each time. He saw 46 patients in 10.25 hours at the jail in September and 39 patients over 5.42 hours in August, according to the Southern Center.
Yalamanchile also said it was not the national standard to have certain commonly abused drugs in a jail setting and that effective alternatives were available.
Coffman testified she was paid $300 per hour to review procedures at the Morgan County Jail and spent about 20 hours reviewing records and 11 hours interviewing inmates.
The court orders stem from a 2001 lawsuit over treatment of inmates.
Attorneys for the Southern Center have agreed to drop all but two of those court orders, including some regarding the feeding of inmates and use-of-force policies at the jail. District Judge Abdul Kallon has approved that agreement.
The two provisions require that the jail ensure inmates who take prescribed medications be allowed to see a physician so that treatment can continue within 48 hours of intake, if prescribed by the physician.
They also require that inmates who appear to be suffering from serious mental illnesses or suicidal tendencies during intake are promptly seen by a health specialist.
The county and Sheriff’s Office are asking for the court to eliminate those final two provisions. Hearings are expected to continue today.
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(c)2017 The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.)