A nurse whose primary duty will be serving the healthcare needs of county jail inmates will soon join the Scurry County payroll.
During their meeting today, county commissioners gave their approval for Scurry County Health Unit Director Dana Hartman to hire another full-time nurse whose primary responsibility will be tending to inmates.
An increase in the number of out-of-county inmates housed at the Snyder facility has stretched the health unit’s staffing thin, Hartman said.
“We are down to three nurses, and that includes me and I wasn’t hired as a nurse,” Hartman said. “Kyle (Lomax) is spending 80 percent to 90 percent of his time with the inmates … and we are being stretched too thin.”
The number of medical tests and services required by law has increased notably in the past year. Hartman said health unit nurses administered 266 tuberculosis tests and logged an average of 42 medical visits per month to the jail in 2017. Through August of this year, 356 tuberculosis tests have been administered and medical visits have averaged between 80 and 90 a month, Hartman said.
Having Lomax spend most of his time at the jail puts a strain on the health unit’s other community services, she said.
“Our policy states that we can’t give immunizations unless there are two nurses present,” she said. “As things stand, we have to schedule flu shots around Kyle’s time at the jail. We’re just spread too thin. It’s turned into a full-time position at the jail and we’re not doing justice at the health department.”
Assuming the county hires a licensed vocational nurse at a $45,000 annual salary plus benefits, the cost to the county would be about $13,000 for the remainder of the year, a figure that would grow to around $78,000 for a full year, County Auditor Angela Sanchez estimated.
To pay for the position, the county will use money received from other counties for housing their excess inmates. With the current out-of-county population hovering around 40 inmates a day, that income would be more than adequate to fund the position. The problem, however, is that the prisoner count is not set in stone and could fluctuate wildly, Sheriff Trey Wilson said.
“I have no problem using these funds to finance the position,” he said. “My only problem is making sure the funds are always there. Those inmate numbers could vanish tomorrow.”
Pct. 2 Commissioner Marianne Randals suggested hiring a nurse for the jail on a contract basis, but Hartman countered that could very well end up being more expensive than putting a nurse on the county payroll.
“Once you look at contracts, you’ll be shocked at how much money you’ll pay for those,” she said. “It’s going to cost a lot of money.”
Pct. 2 Commissioner-elect Craig Merritt also suggested reviewing interlocal agreements for housing the extra inmates to have the outside counties pay more to help cover Scurry County’s inmate healthcare expenses.
“Something’s got to give,” Merritt said. “It all comes down to money. And when you dig yourself into a hole, the only way out is to stop digging. I’m not saying (Hartman) doesn’t need another nurse, but we’ve got to find a way to pay for it.”
Another possible revenue stream would be to start charging inmates for nurse visits, something the county doesn’t do currently, Hartman said.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Shawn McCowan reluctantly voiced support for the hiring.
“I don’t see any way around it, I just don’t,” McCowan said. “We just have to suck it up. There’s no right decision.”
The vote was 3-1 in favor of hiring a nurse, with Randals voting against the proposal.
Also today, commissioners voted to renew the county’s insurance policy for retirees. County Treasurer Nelda Colvin said insurance rates will be unchanged in 2019, with medication policy costs actually decreasing by $26,000.
Commissioners also approved extra revenue from three sources — $89,000 from outside counties to house inmates, $50,000 from AvFuel to help the county airport recoup aviation fuel and oil costs and a $500 donation to the county jail from the Snyder Wheels Car Club.
Commissioners approved two budget amendments today — $41,820 for various equipment in the sheriff’s office, to be paid for by funds received for housing out-of-county inmates, and $500 into the sheriff’s budget to account for the donation from the car club.
In addition, one line-item transfer was approved — $8,000 from road maintenance and construction to capital outlay in the Pct. 2 road and bridge department budget to cover the cost to replace a skid skeer attachment.
Also, commissioners approved bill payments of $754,000, which did not include payroll.
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