Letter to the editor: Jail staffing crisis affecting mental health services

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s recent report on suicide prevention at Allegheny County Jail stated the following:

“Staff shortages are a major challenge at the Allegheny County Jail. The jail has 148 health care positions budgeted, 43% of these positions were vacant as of Sept. 19, 2022, 69.5 positions, including 9 licensed practical nurses, 5 mental health specialists, 3 mental health nurses … . We observed that therapeutic programming on the mental health units was limited and saw group activity with only three inmates, suggesting most inmates did not have access to group activity. … We were told most health care appointments are still conducted at cell-side”

How are people going to disclose that they are hearing voices or are suicidal on a cell block where people can hear what they are saying?

In August 2019, NCCHC found 37 vacancies.

It is time the Jail Oversight Board and the county take the bull by the horns and confront the staffing crisis with the following interventions: Initiate RFPs for outside nonprofit mental health providers to institute group therapy and assist the current staff to conduct medical and mental health assessments in a private setting; and create a subcommittee regarding the staffing crisis, reaching out to directors of nursing and social work schools, human resources departments and current mental health care providers to help assess the staffing crisis and develop a comprehensive plan regarding recruitment and retention.

John Kenstowicz

Morningside