Could sick inmates be heading to IL nursing homes?

[cougarnurse]

Granted, they need care, but I don't really think this is a good idea: JG-TC.com > News > Could sick prison inmates head to nursing homes?

In one of his final acts as a top prison administrator in Ohio, Michael Randle helped implement a plan to release medically ailing prison inmates to nursing homes.

It’s not clear whether he might bring that same proposal to Illinois.

Randle, who took over as director of the Illinois Department of Corrections on Monday, is in the midst of a review of the sprawling state agency, which includes visits to each of the state’s 29 prisons.

“I’m still trying to get acclimated,” Randle said Wednesday from his new office in Springfield.

Along with overcrowding and understaffing at the facilities, prison medical costs will rank high on Randle’s to-do list.

Since 2001, the cost of health care at Illinois prisons has risen by more than 60 percent to $118 million overall, or about $2,593 per inmate per year.

Illinois officials have been attempting to reduce costs for inmate health care, including studying whether they could use video and audio hook-ups to connect doctors remotely with sick or injured prisoners.

In Ohio, Randle’s plan to move terminally ill and incapacitated inmates into nursing homes was aimed at shifting the cost of medical care from general state funds to federal health care dollars.

Randle, who was a top deputy in the Ohio system, said the affected prisoners – about 20 to 40 low-level, non-violent offenders – would be essentially bedridden. Prosecutors, judges and victims would be notified before a prisoner is moved.

The concept was met with some concern from Ohio nursing home owners. They want to make sure ill inmates don’t pose a safety or public relations threat to their industry.

Terry Sullivan, regulatory coordinator for the Health Care Council of Illinois, said there already is a system in place in Illinois when it comes to placing criminals in nursing homes.

All prospective nursing home residents undergo background checks. If a person is found to be a convicted felon, state regulators and local police are notified to assess the risk.

Nursing homes can impose strict rules on that person. “Or, a facility can say, ‘We can’t handle this person,’” Sullivan said.

Randle, who replaced former Corrections chief Roger Walker, said he needs to review the situation before he knows whether what is working in Ohio will work in Illinois.

“I need to understand a little better the characteristics of our population,” Randle said.