MEDICAL EXPENSE RECORDS SHOW JAIL IMPASSE COSTING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
An ongoing impasse between the Washington County Sheriff and the Medical Director for the County Jail has cost the County and its taxpayers as much as an estimated $400,000 in two months.
Washington Sheriff Otto Hanak is no longer allowing Jail Medical Director Robert Stark inside the jail to treat prisoners. In the current situation, the Washington County EMS is dispatched to the jail every time an inmate complains about a medical problem. If necessary, EMS is then transporting the inmate to Baylor Scott and White Hospital in Brenham for treatment.
KWHI requested records of the jail medical expenses covering January and February of both 2019 and 2020. At the direction of Washington County Judge John Durrenberger, EMS Director Kevin Deramus provided the number of calls to the Jail for those months, and estimated the costs for EMS personnel and hospital emergency room visits.
In 2019, Deramus estimates the cost of 46 calls to the Jail and transport of five patients to the ER at just over $5000. Deramus says the average cost of a visit to the ER is over $4000, so those five patients in 2019 would have cost the County approximately $25,000.
Fast forward to January and February 2020, where Deramus reports 105 calls to the Jail, and all 105 inmates transferred to the emergency room. EMS personnel costs are estimated at just over $12,000, while ER costs are estimated at $420,000. Combined, that’s a cost to the County and its taxpayers of an estimated $432,000 for the first two months of 2020, versus a cost of $25,000 in 2019.
This is the same situation that existed years ago before former Jail Medical Director Dr. Stuart Yoffe completely revamped the way prisoners were treated for medical issues. That change brought about by Dr. Yoffe saved the County and its taxpayers through the years millions of dollars which were being spent at the emergency room.
Neither Judge Durrenberger nor Sheriff Hanak would discuss the impasse with Dr. Stark with KWHI, saying it was a personnel issue. Dr. Stark also would not comment saying he is an employee of the County. In the just released agenda for the County Commissioners Court meeting next Tuesday, a workshop is scheduled to discuss the ongoing costly situation of jail medical care.
Just authorize the sherriff to hire another medical director and let him run the jail…its a personnel matter and he was elected to oversee these matters…because while local politicians wanta make power plays, some of the prisoners reading about this drama are going to exacerbate and expand the expense problem erroneously..id rather lock up dope dealers than focus on this rediculousness
I’m sure glad I moved out of Washington County because of BA like this is what keeps raising County taxes and yes the sheriff runs the jail but he does not own the building the county does and the commissioner in theory are his bosses so he can be given an order by then to allow the Dr in they can even get a district court order that makes him do the commissioners need to stand up to this bully!!!
This story goes much deeper. I’m sure the county will be paying a lawsuit for medical negligence in the near future.
The Sheriff is showing how powerful he can be at the expense of the tax payers. This is nothing but personal and a dangerous game. I personally worked under Dr. Stark in the jail and I’m just flabbergasted. Unlawful retaliation at its finest. The judge and the commissioners do care but their hands are tied. The sheriff controls who he allows in the jail.
The county judge and his commissioners court totally control the budget allocated to the sheriff’s department. This is a fact and it is how other county governments avoid this type of situation.
Please don’t try to paint weak courthouse leadership as having their “hands tied.” That is incorrect.
Why has this issued not been settle. There is no reason for this to continue. I just shows elected official do not care about the citizens who pay the salary. They should be our representivies yet they do not care. Where is the county judge does he not care they are spending 420.000 dollars. It maybe time the State attorney general does an investigation in the county and city.
I am sure you could hire a part time doctor to help the clients in jail. That is ridiculous the cost. Going to the emergency room is not the best solution. What is the real reason of this problem. Not letting Dr Stark in the jail. That is weird……… Don’t raise our taxes….
Luckily residents of Washington County are affluent enough to afford this type of expensive county government leadership, thanks to a healthy real estate market and the lucrative property tax levy.
$420,000 in jail medical costs for the past two months equals $7,000 per day! Many counties around you can’t afford that type of bill. As anyone familiar with jail standards can explain, worse than this daily money drain is the even bigger taxpayer cost once a prisoner in Washington County custody is either seriously injured or dies due to this situation where the medical director is not allowed to evaluate people in jail.
Well I’m one tax payer that’s fed up up with this BS. It’s time to fire the person responsible for this.
If commisioner court has hired a medical doctor to take care if medical issues at the jail, then any expenses incurred by blocking the hired medical person should come out of the jail or sheriff’s budget