Relatives thank prison officials

An inmate at Schuylkill County Prison was sickened and was transported first by ambulance to a local emergency room before being taken by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown.

The incident, which happened in July, came to light during a prison board meeting Wednesday. Two relatives of the inmate attended the meeting to thank officials for the life of their family member.

They did have issues with time frames, including the time which elapsed during the inmate’s detox watch, and the time which elapsed before they were notified of his need for emergency care. The inmate’s mother, Alice Mabry, said she knew nothing about any issue with her son until she received a call from the Allentown hospital at 8 a.m. one morning. She said that the hospital employee who contacted her said her son was in a medically induced coma and needed a spinal tap.

Hospital staff at LVHN in Allentown suspected meningitis, but it turned out that her son had a urinary tract infection, she said. The two family members had questions about procedures that are followed at the county prison when a prisoner arrives for incarceration.

Prime Care Medical Inc. of Harrisburg, has handled health care for inmates at the prison since 2009. After the meeting, Prime Care vice president of administration, Francis Komykoski, explained the protocol. He said that within four hours of arrival, the inmate’s urine is collected and screened for the presence of drugs or alcohol. Nurses and mental health staff check those results, and also verify any prescription medications the inmate is using.

Komykoski said that depending on the type and amount of drug use, a detox watch may last up to 10 days. During detox watches, nurses check vital signs and corrections officers also monitor the prisoner. According to the prison report given at the meeting, there were 60 detox watches at the prison during July, and 10 inmates were taken for emergency room treatment.

The family members of the inmate had said during the meeting that he had “tremors and fevers” for seven to 10 days. When that inmate’s condition showed no improvement, a nurse re-evaluated him and said he should go to the emergency room. Prison Warden Eugene Berdanier said that in normal operations, prison officials contact the family if a serious situation exists. He added that inmates are asked to name a person to be contacted in an emergency.

Both Berdanier and Komykoski declined to name the inmate or the exact date of the incident, citing HIPAA laws.

After the inmate’s mother got the call from LVHN, not knowing where else to inquire, she called the Schuylkill County Courthouse. Commissioner Gary Hess happened to take her call and stayed with the issue until he got answers for the inmate’s family.

“I want to thank a man named Gary,” Mabry said during the meeting. After the meeting, she shook hands with Hess and personally thanked him. Hess said his response wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“If concerns are brought to us, we try to address them right away,” Hess said.

The inmate’s family said that since the incident, and with treatment, the man seemed to be “on the right path.”

“Believe me, I know that it was his fault that he was where he was, but he’s doing better now than he has been for many years,” his mother added. “I want to thank the warden and the medical people for saving him.”