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Harris jail loses doc slot as federal litigation looms

In June of this year, the US Justice Department issued a findings letter to Sheriff Adrian Garcia about the Harris County Jail declaring that "Because of crowding, administrative weaknesses, and resource limits, the Jail does not provide constitutionally adequate care to meet the serious medical needs of detainees with chronic illness." Then, Lisa Falkenberg reported Thursday in the Houston Chronicle:One day last month, Harris County Jail medical director Dr. Michael Seale arrived at the 1200 Baker St. jail and learned that about 100 detainees were lined up in the halls waiting to see a doctor. Seale was told that one of two overnight doctors hadn't shown up. Seale then called UT Health Science Center, a longtime county contractor that provides the jail's doctors, and was told, according to sheriff's spokesman Alan Bernstein, that UT had decided to cut the doctor, for financial reasons...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on August 15, 2009 (boomark / email).