A new telehealth program allows Buffalo County jail inmates to see a mental health professional without ever leaving the jail.
Although behavioral health services via telehealth technology have been used in the Kearney area since 1995, the system at the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office is new.
Dr. Hugo Gonzalez, a psychiatrist at Richard H. Young Hospital explained that telehealth technology is basically video conferences with patients, mainly for medication management.
“I have a screen with my patient on the other side and then I interview the patient just like I would in my office through a secure line,” he said.
Gonzalez, who is the only permanent psychiatrist in Kearney, said behavioral telehealth conferencing began as a way to serve patients in rural Nebraska.
“It all started because we live in a rural state so people don’t have access to a lot of service and psychiatric health is one of them.”
The program reduces the cost and hassle of having to travel to the hospital. For the Buffalo County Jail, it is invaluable, said Buffalo County Sheriff Neil Miller.
He said the telehealth mental health conferences provide numerous benefits to everyone involved.
“It’s safer for us to be able to have that happen inside the jail rather than taking people outside the facility. There’s just less chance for us to have a problem all around.”
According to Miller, the complex process of transporting an inmate from the jail to Richard Young Hospital requires at least one officer, sometimes two.
“When you have to move somebody securely from the jail to Richard Young it’s kind of a big deal and it takes manpower and time to get that done. They can move around inside the jail with a lot less concern.”
In addition to increased safety, the behavioral telehealth services save money for Buffalo County.
“This program is very cost- effective,” Miller said. “The people who would normally need to take inmates out of the building to Richard Young can now be used in the court area providing security and additional staff.”
Gonzalez added, “If you imagine the cost of the car and all the hours in securing the permits and the transportation, the salaries of the officer, it adds up. Instead of being out there and doing their jobs, the officers are acting as transporting agents, so that means that somebody else has to do their jobs.”
The service is provided through collaboration between the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Good Samaritan Hospital, Richard Young Hospital and Region 3 Behavioral Health Services.
Miller said the addition of the telehealth technology coincides with the Buffalo County Jail expansion project. A conference room for the telehealth sessions was added to the medical unit during phase two of the expansion. He said the jail has been using the service for a few months, and the new portion of the jail has been using it for about one month.
Both Miller and Gonzalez said mental health services are essential for jail inmates.
“I think that now we’re seeing more people with mental health issues who end up in jail and just the same as with medical issues, we have a responsibility to deal with those. This is one way we are able to provide that service efficiently,” Miller said.
Gonzalez added that mental health issues can affect anyone and should always be addressed.
“Mental illness is pervasive in all levels of life. A big problem we have in psychiatry is stigmatization,” he said. “Mental health issues are found in all sexes, all ages, all social statuses — everybody, including people in jail.”
He said the telehealth services meet the needs of the inmates safely and effectively while saving money.
“I think we are saving money and we are making sure that the public is safer. The patients themselves are not encumbered by shackles and things like that so it’s good for everybody really.”
Gonzalez said he would like to see the program expand to other areas of the community such as nursing homes.
Miller said the program is a success and he hopes the technology can be implemented in surrounding community jail systems.
“In this day and age with the amount of technology that there is, I think we’ve got to try and use technology to help us do our jobs and to work smarter,” he said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Rebecca McMickell
Quelle/Source: Kearney Hub, 05.11.2011
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