TOLEDO, Ohio — The Lucas County Sheriff's Office is on a hiring push for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses right now as the jail is in dire need of healthcare workers.
The clinic is open 24 hours a day treating inmates like patients at any doctor's office for colds, diseases and injuries. But right now the need is much greater than what the nurses are able to provide.
"These services are very, very important nowadays because we have a lot of people that come into our custody that take a lot of meds and they are very sick," said Director of Medical Services Anissa Floure. "A lot of them don't know that they're sick or that they need meds because a lot of them don't have any care."
Currently there are six nurses providing around the clock care to the more than 350 patients in orange jumpsuits. She said to be in a comfortable position, they need 13-15 nurses on staff.
Floure said working in a jail setting is not much different than working as a nurse in a hospital.
"These are people too and that's how we treat them," she said. "They're people too. It's not a place for us to judge. That's why they go to court and they figure out if they're innocent or guilty. That's not what the nurses are here for. We're only here for the medical care."
Floure said if an inmate isn't able to take care of their ADLs - activities of daily living - then she has to tell the judge there aren't enough nurses on staff to care for that inmate.
"Either I'll ask for a furlough to release them from our custody until they get better or well, or if they can just release them if it's not a crime that's a bad crime," Floure said.
In extreme situations, inmates will be transported to a hospital for care.
The nurse manager at St. Vincent Medical Center, Katie Wiese, said on Thursday alone, the emergency department saw two inmates. She said at the end of the day, everybody deserves proper treatment.
"You never know what their story is - the lives of what people are going through," Wiese said. "So we just treat everyone as decent human beings. They are patients and we are here to care for their needs health-wise, and sometimes emotionally as well."
Floure said they had a meeting Thursday afternoon to figure out what Plan B could be for the jail, but she said no conclusion has been reached yet.
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